The cast of Christmas SOS, a nativity musical written and directed by Helen Snook for Stratford on Stage.
A modern twist on the traditional nativity story is packed with homegrown talent.
Christmas SOS, written and directed by Helen Snook, is playing now at the Castle, home of Stratford on Stage (SOS).
Stratford on Stage-member Snook wrote the play for the theatre company’s Christmas show this year, and with her talent for playwriting matched by her directing, the result is an entertaining show that’s an ideal pre-Christmas outing.
Snook’s premise is relatively simple, a young pregnant woman called Mary (played by Jordyn Buckland), in this case with no helpful carpenter husband, is facing homelessness this Christmas. As she lines up outside the Department of Social Services seeking financial help on Christmas Eve, she’s joined by Joe (Paul Kuriger), an Elvis impersonator seeking help to realise his dream of heading to Las Vegas for an Elvis competition.
They are joined by The Little Drummer Boy (Cullum Wilson), who now works as a spiritual guide, and Elfie (Indiana Frazier), an elf facing a downturn in toymaking as people move to shop online.
A choir of angels (Rubeana Reader, Rachel Wilson, Vanessa Triggs and Donna Drummond), with two adorable cherubs (Spencer Greensill and Lexi Buckland), complete the cast, while a live band on stage (Mike Ratu, Vivienne Genet and Philip Hitchcock) add to both the music and energy throughout the show.
The angelic choir is perfectly pitched throughout and adds a beautifully harmonious element to the show, with moments of song real highlights, lifting the entire show up to a new level.
Each of the four angels has a beautiful voice in her own right, and the mix of solo pieces and choral harmonies is nicely balanced, albeit leaving the audience wanting more. A few extra songs certainly wouldn’t go amiss when sung so beautifully.
When not singing, the angelic foursome brings some fantastic physical comedy to the show, reacting to the story playing out - watch for the tears and the resultant wring of the emergency handkerchief material in particular.
The two cherubs pop on and off the stage throughout the show, and certainly add the cute factor.
As Mary, the pregnant, fiercely independent teen, Buckland is perfectly cast. She balances her character’s emotions of anger and hurt nicely, and while at times that anger makes her voice very shouty in her spoken lines, that same volume works brilliantly in her singing, with every lyric perfectly clear. She has a great voice, and the songs chosen suit it well, giving her the opportunity to truly shine.
The shouty moments also nicely capture her character’s state of mind - we are seeing her at her roughest, a concept well demonstrated by the wardrobe and makeup team, with her character’s messy unwashed hair, pale pallor and general sense of lack of care nicely representing where Mary has found herself in life right now.
Her later scenes, as she begins to recognise she can trust some people in life, are brilliantly played with a maturity and nuance that makes it believable, and keeps the audience rooting for her throughout.
She is well matched on stage by Kuriger. He’s in great voice as he covers some of the King’s hits, and doesn’t miss a beat throughout. Some of his best moments also come later in the show, and as he looks at a wooden toy and remembers his childhood, he takes the audience with him as he walks down memory lane.
Wilson has excellent stage craft, always facing the audience when speaking, and fully immersed in the scene, never giving a sense of simply delivering lines, or following direction, but of really being in the moment throughout.
Frazier is fantastically cast as Elfie, with wonderful energy and expression throughout. She’s got great physicality on stage, and demands attention even when she’s not speaking or part of the main action, with her expressive acting bringing a real sense of joy and fun to the stage.
In both writing and directing this show, Snook has shown real talent. The plot is well-paced and balanced, and as a director she has given every actor on stage their chance to shine - a challenge each actor has certainly stepped up to in this production.
She is well supported by the backstage crew, with a great set and some wonderful costumes adding an extra element throughout.
Overall it’s a great production, well worth seeing as we head into the festive season this year.
The details:
What: Stratford on Stage presents Christmas SOS by Helen Snook
Where: The Castle, Regan Street, Stratford
When: Now until December 7
Tickets: iTicket
Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from across the lower North Island. She has worked for NZME since 2011.