Cardiff Nativity
This Passion Play is not being performed in 2017. Please visit again for further information.
- 36% of 18-25 year-olds in Britain cannot tell you where Jesus was born.
- Only 44% of junior school children in mainland Britain can link Jesus to Christmas.
- Fewer than 2% of Christmas cards have a nativity theme.
The Cardiff Nativity, ‘Christmas – The Story‘ has run in Cardiff City Centre for four years now. It is a professionally-staged drop-in nativity, using a mix of adult actors and puppets, open throughout December, offering 250 free performances every year. Like Santa’s Grotto, the Cardiff Nativity is now a regular part of Christmas – the gift of the churches of Cardiff to the people of Cardiff. 6,000 people annually stop shopping for 20 minutes to watch. 3,000 children come on school trips. People of all faiths and none come to see The Story – and they love it.
It is completely replicable. Last year Aberdare – just a tenth the size of Cardiff – mounted their own version. They ran for one week. 2,500 people came in. All the schools in the Cynon Valley came on school trips. All the churches of the valley, of all denominations, teamed up. They spent just five months preparing and spent around £3,000. The place is still buzzing. Several more towns in South Wales are planning to start up – and interest is being shown by towns as far afield as Hexham in Northumberland.
The Cardiff team can provide a professional soundtrack (in both English and Welsh), advice on lighting, staging and costumes, rehearsal schedules and dvds, templates for posters and flyers, schools brochures, health and safety policies, additional activities for school trips – and a wealth of practical advice and guidance.
