Narrator: Poor little boy! He was up all night helping his father and mother at the Inn in Bethlehem.
(The other children go up to him and act as if they are asking him why
he is so tired. He smiles at them, stretches and yawns and they all
go and sit on the side of the stage while he pretends to tell them the
story.)
Narrator: He tells the children that he heard that months ago, in a
town that was far away from Bethlehem, called Nazareth, there was a young
lady, named Mary, who had a very special visitor.
(Gabriel comes on to the stage and goes up to the middle, facing the audience. He raises his arms and goes to the back of the stage. Mary comes onto the stage and sits down on a box. She begins to sew a piece of material.)
Narrator: Gabriel appeared before Mary. She was frightened so she fell down and covered her face. Gabriel helped her up and told her that she should not be afraid because she was chosen to have a special baby who was to be called Jesus.
(Mary runs off the stage and gets Joseph. They both run back onto the stage and Mary “tells” him the good news. They look happy and hug each other. They leave the stage.)
Narrator: Months pass. Joseph and Mary hear that they must travel to Bethlehem to be counted. Mary is worried about travelling so far. Joseph tells her that he has a plan.
(Six little donkeys come onto the stage. They do the donkey chant. Joseph appears as they chant two little donkeys.... He chooses the last donkey and walks off the stage with it.)
Donkeys:
Six little donkeys playing all aroundNarrator: Many people were on the road to Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary travelled with them. Joseph walked while Mary rode on the donkey.
One slips and he falls down onto the muddy ground....Five little donkeys etc...
Four..
Three....
Two...One little donkey playing on his own,
Joseph comes and chooses him and takes him home.
(Sing “Little donkey” while Joseph and Mary go across the stage with some travellers. They head off down the middle aisle towards the end of the song.)
Narrator: Far away in the East, there were wise men who studied the stars.
Star dance: Which includes the brightest star who also goes down the middle aisle at the conclusion of the dance.
Narrator: These wise men had seen a very bright star and they followed the star through the desert on camels.
Camels:
We are camels big and strong
We carry the wise men and their gifts along.
Through deserts dry and hot we go,
When will it end? We do not know!Our feet are round and we lift them high
The sands of the desert around us fly.
Our humps go bobbing up and down
as we go over dunes and into the town.
(The camels go off the side of the stage and sit with the wise Men.)
Narrator: When Joseph and the tired Mary arrived in Bethlehem, they
went to many inns but all were full!
(Sing Rat a tat tat while Mary and Joseph and the Innkeepers interact. The Innkeeper and his son [the tired little boy who at this stage is not so tired.....] help to settle Mary on the box and Joseph fetches the crib with the baby. The Innkeeper and his son stand to one side.)
Narrator: That night in the humble stable. The Lord Jesus Christ was born. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Let us all sing “Away in a Manger” together.
(Joseph and Mary go off the stage while the sheep come on and pretend to graze.)
Narrator: This is a warning to all in the audience. Please do not count how many sheep we have on the stage.....we would find it most disconcerting to have a sleeping audience on our hands!
Sheep:
We eat...eat...eat and we sleep sleep sleepNarrator: Outside Bethlehem, some shepherds were watching their sheep when suddenly the sky was filled with bright and glorious light. They looked up at angels who were singing. The shepherds were terrified!!!!
We live on the hills because we are fine sheep.The gentle, kind, shepherds keep us safe at night
if there is a wolf, they will fight fight fight!Our wool is curly and our ears are small
and we have no tails at all all all
(Shepherds run and fetch the sheep...gather them around and cover their faces.)
Narrator: Gabriel told the shepherds that they should not be afraid because he was delivering a message of joy.
(The shepherds look up and the angels do a movement to “Hark the Herald Angels sing”. As the angels go off the stage, one shepherd stands up, gestures to the others and they all head off to the side.)
Narrator: The shepherds went to find the baby in Bethlehem. They found him in the stable and bowed down before him. Meanwhile, the Wise Men from the East were approaching Bethlehem in search of the King.
(Oriental music is played while the kings come onto the stage and make their way back and forth, following the brightest star. They stand to the side while the Nativity scene is arranged in the middle of the stage, including the sheep and shepherds.)
Narrator: The Wise Men gave special gifts to the baby. The first gave gold.(Wait until the Wise Man has delivered the gift and taken up his position) The second, Myrrh (wait...etc) and the third, Frankincense.
(The angels file onto the stage around the scene and the children all get up and place flowers around the baby’s crib. They return to their places. As they sit down the children all sing: “We wish you a Merry Christmas”)
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(c) Copyright Margie Taylor, all rights reserved.
This script may be used royalty free. However, in return the author
asks that you make a donation to a worthy local cause in your home city.
She would also like to be notified when you perform the play. She may be
contacted at rhinopr@iafrica.com