The following play was produced at Cambridge in December 1907 and January 1908. It was acted six times altogether, to full houses, upon a temporary stage in the schoolroom of St. Mary’s Convent, by the girls of the school, whose ages ran from six to eighteen. The scenery, the properties, and the costumes were constructed—with the exception of two simple Eastern dresses and a few weapons—out of materials lent to the convent or possessed by it. The cost, therefore, was extremely small; the trouble only was great, and this lay almost entirely in the learning of the parts and the rehearsals.
It is alleged sometimes, as one reason for fearing such performances, that the spirit of the age is very different from that in which this method of bringing the Christian mysteries before the eye was almost universally practised. This fear, of course, was not absent from the minds of those responsible for this production, but it proved wholly illusory. The audience, consisting of Catholics and non-Catholics drawn from all classes, was begged, by a sentence on the printed programme, to refrain from all applause and conversation, and loyally responded to the request. There was practically a dead silence from the first notes of the first carol to the departure of the audience at the end.
It has been thought worth while, therefore, in this age of Pageants, to print and publish the text of a play which has for its object the furthering of devotion to the Nativity of our Blessed Lord, and which has been put to the test of actual performance before a mixed assembly, in the hope that others perhaps may venture upon a task which to its original promoters has appeared at least to justify its inception. Full directions are given in appendices as to the methods by which the staging was accomplished and the properties constructed, as well as, in the text itself, minute stage directions as to the movements of the actors. Realism and passion have been studiously avoided in the training of these; and in their place a kind of slow and deliberate simplicity has been arrived at throughout. There was practically no attempt made to disguise the faces of the actors, except in the matter of a brown stain applied to the faces and hands of a few, and of two or three beards in the cases of old men.
In case, however, that the recommendations given in the book do not seem sufficient to others, the author will be happy to answer any questions that he can.
The present edition contains appendices, and stage directions; a cheaper acting edition shortly to be issued will contain only the words with a few necessary remarks.
The collection from which the carols are taken is one compiled by Dr. Stainer and the Rev. H. R. Bramley, under the title “Christmas Carols, New and Old.” It is published with music by Novello. Acknowledgments are made in the proper places.
An admirable orchestral effect may be produced by the use of a piano and an American organ played together.
The play as a whole does not aspire to be considered a literary production; it is only published as a practicable drama.
| Mary. | ||
| Joseph. | ||
| Tobias (Landlord of Inn at Bethlehem). | ||
| David (his servant). | ||
| Zachary | |
|
| Ezra | Three Shepherds. | |
| Ben-Ezra | ||
| Eliphaz | |
|
| Nadab | Three Merchants. | |
| Uzziel | ||
| Martha (A Child). | ||
| Abel (her brother). | ||
| Angels (four). | ||
| Herald (An Angel). | ||
| I. | Road outside Bethlehem. |
| II. | The Kitchen of the Inn. |
| III. | Hills outside Bethlehem. |
| IV. | Interior of the Stable. |
| V. | The same. |
Note.—In the stage directions throughout, “R.” = right of actor who faces the audience, and “L.” = his left.
Before curtain rises there is sung—
Curtains part—Enter Herald, closing curtains behind him. He bows low, slowly, with arms across his breast; he recovers himself perfectly upright, and begins in a clear, declaiming voice—
Road outside Bethlehem. Sky, stars, snow. Up, centre, a little to left, a stump of a tree. As curtain begins to rise, there is sung by invisible Choir....2
Then, enter Zachary (L.); walking with a stick, carrying a bundle and a lantern. His shoulders are covered with snow. He walks very slowly. In centre of stage he halts, looks about him slowly.