Rock Nativity is a modern retelling of the birth of Jesus Christ with a rock soundtrack.

It is important to say that this was not Ventnor Theatre Group's strongest performance in recent years.

The company has made a name for delivering excellent contemporary musicals to great acclaim such as Legally Blonde, Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats.

In this production there were some basic directorial decisions which hindered so much of this show.

A raised block at the back of the vast stage at Shanklin Theatre pushed much of the action so far away from the audience.

A lack of interaction between the performers during the musical numbers meant it lost a lot of its emotional potential.

The production values for a musical of this scale were disappointingly low.

Despite all this, there were some very talented young performers who absolutely shone.

They deserved a better production and I hope to see them in many more performances in the new year. 

Willow Samuel was superb as Mary. She is a strong performer who has a really lovely voice. She delivered many of the numbers with pathos and conveyed the complex emotions of this young girl struggling to come to terms with the news of her pregnancy. This young performer clearly has a bright creative future and I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of her on Island stages. 

Joseph, played by Simon Apsey, worked well alongside Mary. It was a challenging role, he conveyed his part with depth and there were some powerful moments. I wish some of his duets with Mary were directed towards each other rather than out front so we could capture more of the relationship between the two.

What Game Are You Playing Lord? was a particularly strong number from Mary and Joseph and, rightly so, earned them the biggest applause of the evening. 

Orla Gibbins, another strong performer with great acting skills, multi-roled as various parts but did particularly well as a shepherd. She was engaging, comical and full of energy. 

Ben Glanville, although seemingly stuck in his throne for most of the show, delivered a sensational performance as the paranoid King Herod. He ticked the ‘rock’ part of Rock Nativity in his energetic, characterful and entertaining portrayal. 

There’s talent here, and despite the show's flaws, the stars found a way to shine.