Xmas Angels

Reviews

This was the first online production I have viewed this season. Xmas Angels is written by Jacob de Bruyn and adapted by the Blackmore Players team to enable it to be viewed online. Director, John Riley, conceived the 'Zoom grid' hierarchy for the angels, as well as writing the dialogue for the 'mortals'. This format seems an obvious way to engage with an audience and to keep the passion of a Drama group alive but it means that a group who is accustomed to live audiences in a theatre, have to learn new ways of working involving technical problems that they may have never encountered before.Released on 16th December, just in time for Christmas, as a live, online performance.

I really enjoyed this show; I also liked the idea that because it was online it could be viewed at leisure and more than once. The play examines the story of the birth of Jesus from the perspective of the angels.At the beginning of the play, we meet Junior Angel played by James Hughes and Archangel Gabriel played by Simon Haskell. They are both very strong actors and bring this to the screen. I congratulate all the actors on their performances. They all seemed well rehearsed and I was impressed by the technical point that even though the actors were obviously not in the same location and sat in 'compartments' like those in a zoom meeting, they each interacted with their fellow actors well and looked in the right direction on the screen to make a very believable conversation.The play progressed with some very amusing references to the story of nativity which was being orchestrated by the angels and didn't go as smoothly as Junior Angel had hoped. Although the play could have been very static, the 'zoom type' grid was used inventively by varying the level of the Angels with Gabriel and Michaela at the top and different Angels appearing in different areas of the screen. The grid-visual was differentiated with some live, full screen action from the mortals. Joseph, with his carpentry, Mary, the Australian shepherds (great twist on the traditional story) and the astronomers. Herod, a householder and an Egyptian border guard make up the mortal's scenes. The scenes were well costumed and with believable backgrounds, I assumed these were computer-generated. (If not computer-generated Herod, you have a great front room!)There was also a musical interlude by John Hatt playing the organ in St Laurence Church complete with Georgian wig.

Technically, I thought Blackmore Players worked hard, the titles were very professional and the transitions between the scenes was smooth, although, at times the cloud effect seemed a little long. There was a little lag in the lip-sync for Gabriel but his acting was so strong it made up for the poor internet connection at his end. There was a difference in the sound quality between the Angels scenes and the Mortal's scenes, but again, this was probably due to the fact that the mortal's scenes could have been recorded in a larger room which would have been in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines.

I appreciated the time, effort and expertise that this production required. Every actor made a supreme effort. The costumes were very good and the props added to the characterisation. The shepherds with their Fosters and Herod with his knife sharpening were particularly memorable. When the Angel appeared in the mortal world, she not only sported great wings but a beautiful golden halo. (technically very clever)

At the end of the play, instead of 'The end' we had 'The beginning'; a very amusing way to end a nativity.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the online production. I hope that it received a good audience to appreciate the work Blackmore Players have put in during the unprecedented times in which we find ourselves.

The play can be viewed here: Xmas Angels

Zahna Hull, NODA