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LET PEACE in this Christmas said the posters promoting this year’s live nativity.
And it did, along with hope and joy.
On Sunday, December 16, hundreds of people, from young to old, came to Howard Palmer Gardens to take part in the special event, part of Wokingham’s Living Advent Calendar.
Organised by Rough Sketch Theatre and featuring members of Wokingham’s wider community, the play retold the events of the first Christmas, but with a contemporary twist.
And it was a real community effort.
The event, attended by Wokingham Town Mayor Cllr Julian McGhee-Sumner and his wife Judith, started in Market Place where members of Churches Together In Wokingham were handing out hot chocolate to warm people up.
There were donkeys for people to stroke, crafts to enjoy and performances from members of Platform YP.
Then, at 3.50pm, the mayor led a procession to Howard Palmer Gardens where people were able to enjoy the half-hour show.
The cast comprised a wide range of ages, with the youngest being five. Six different churches, singers from local choirs and teenagers from Platform YP also joined in the choir.
Kim Helman signed the performance so that hard-of-hearing members of the audience could still follow the story.
Parts of the set were made by drop-in clients from The Salvation Army, while the poster was painted by Tony A, who is currently in rehabilitation for drug addiction at Yeldall Manor in Hare Hatch.
And as a gift for all the children that come to see the Nativity, members of the Barkham Hookers crocheted Christmas star tree decorations.
Despite heavy rain, the audience stayed right to the end and clapped loudly when the cast took their curtain call.
