We’re not sheepish about spreading the joy of Jesus!
Why do joy and laughter matter at Christmas? As Riding Lights Theatre Company toured the UK with its Christmas special show, Erin Burbridge explains its importance...
Gibbo and Daw’s sheep ‘Sheryll’ has been stolen. Mak’s Lamb Chop Inn is full to bursting and he has swiped her to cook for Sunday lunch. Will the shepherds find her in time? Will Mak have a change of heart?
This is how Riding Lights brought the nativity story to audiences across the UK last Christmas.
In our interview last year, Erin Burbridge, creative associate at the company, was knee-deep in costumes as she told us about the festive show, Give it Back, Mak!
“It’s based on an old mystery play about Mak, the sheep stealer, looking at the Christmas story through the eyes of the shepherds,” she explains. “You see the transformation in Mak, who starts off as a greedy innkeeper then encounters the Nativity.”
This story is designed to share the hope and joy of Jesus with audiences in a hilarious way, and Riding Lights understands the power of the laughter that infuses the show.
“The Christmas story is such an exciting moment of hope and a lot of joy is exuded through that,” says Erin.
“Laughter is a really good way to express that joy, but also it has the power to build community. You build a sense of togetherness because you’re bonded in that moment of laughing out loud. That’s so important, especially at a time of year when the evenings get dark and we need to feel joy. Laughter is good for the soul.” The audiences clearly agree.
“We’ve had all sorts of feedback, but ‘joy and laughter’ pretty much hit the nail on the head. Schools are telling us about children engaging with the Christmas story in a way they perhaps haven’t before,” Erin says.
“We’re going into schools where the teachers say kids don’t really care about the Nativity anymore, but when they see it as a piece of theatre they understand and are excited by it.”
A standout moment for her was when a child with additional needs responded to the show in a truly heart-warming way.
“She was non-verbal and having intensive one-to-one care, then at our show started speaking and joining in.
“The teachers couldn’t believe it, and were in floods of tears. Afterwards, they told me they had never heard this child speak, yet she was mimicking what we were saying on stage and sat through the whole show. It was a major breakthrough.”
A heart for social action
Ever since Riding Lights started out in the 1970s, social action themes have run through the heart of its shows.
“We like looking at big issues through a faith lens, whether that’s adoption and fostering, climate change, migrant communities, dementia or poverty,” says Erin.
“The beautiful thing about theatre is the fact it doesn’t put answers on a plate for people but asks questions and helps the audience make their own decisions.
“We’re trying to help them think differently about other people and issues in the world, to say, ‘Here’s what’s going on, what are you going to do about it?’”
Fresh ideas
With a fresh Christmas show needed each year, how does Riding Lights come up with a constant stream of engaging ideas? It’s partly a big writing team, partly the breadth of the Christmas story and partly God, says Erin.
“We’ve got a wide pool of writers, which is a real gift because it means there are lots of ideas.
“There’s so much to the Christmas story, too. It’s not just the baby Jesus but you have the narrative of the shepherds, what the angels, the innkeeper, the Roman soldiers and the Magi were doing, Mary’s perspective and so on.
“Sometimes inspiration will strike and someone will suggest a way we haven’t told the story before. Or we’ll brainstorm. Quite often, it’s about trying to listen to God to see what he wants people to hear in relation to culture, too.”
This year, Riding Lights decided to stage Give it Back, Mak! – a show they originally performed in 2011 – because of the materialism that surrounds Christmas today.
“People are getting caught up in selfishness and greed and Christmas is becoming more about money and having the most we can. This show tries to strip that away and plant seeds in kids’ minds of a better way to be.” Riding Lights is aiming to bring laughter and a gospel message to communities this Christmas, but none of this happens without months of preparation.
Erin is spending the day examining sets to see what needs refurbishing, then readying costumes for a fortnight of rehearsing and piloting the show in front of some pint-sized primary school critics.
“We start early because we want to create something magical,” she says.
“When we’re out on the road, we’ll have a show that’s memorable and exciting for our audiences!”
Taking a look inside the Bible
This autumn, Riding Lights has been out on tour getting audiences excited about the Bible with its latest show, ‘Inspired’.
“It’s a jam-packed, lively show that looks at the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and it’s been really fun to put it on its feet and get it out on the road,” says Erin. “Through it, we’re saying the Bible is an exciting, dynamic book that affects and speaks into our lives today. It’s full of amazing ideas about the issues we see in our culture. Racism, sexism, redemption – all sorts of things like these are dealt with. It’s not just an old historical document that’s boring or difficult to read, so let’s have a look inside.”
Sharing their Christian faith and helping audiences view the world through this lens is a vitally important part of Riding Lights’ work.
If you would like to contribute or find out more about upcoming performances, please visit their website, ridinglights.org
This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.
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