The Flint Street Nativity, written by Tim Firth, was broadcast by ITV on 22 December 1999. Based on real accounts, the play is set in an inner city primary school on the Welsh-Cheshire borders.

BMH Productions version opened with a view into the final rehearsal of seven-year-old pupils preparing for their nativity play. Miss goody-two-shoes flounders trying to boss the other kids around. The kid with a lisp, playing one of the three wise men, disappears - overwhelmed under the weight of not being able to pronounce 'frankincense'.

Inspired by the story of Mary giving birth to baby Jesus, one child recounts a story of a baby being born at her home farm, and remembers that something called the 'play centre' had to be cut. Child power-politics, and friendships lost and found (and lost again) threaten the performance, which unsurprisingly ends in calamity. The ITV show ended with the children's parents inadvertently conveying all the ways in which they have created clones of themselves. In 2002, the show was voted one of the top 15 Christmas TV moments on Channel 4.

Last night's stage production lacked cohesion and sensitivity; in parts, it was messy, mimicking too closely the chaos and unpredictability of child nativity plays, without transcending to pointed satire. The actors were all sincere in their efforts but aside from the misunderstanding of 'placenta', few jokes were greeted with laughter from the audience. The most endearing moment involved the class nerd dressing up as an astronaut after refusing to accept the five-edged silver star costume. To him, it did not represent the burning balls of hydrogen and helium his uncle told him make up real stars.

Perhaps with more time the show could have been tightened up. BMH Productions certainly does not lack talent. However, the timing and tone of the many jokes in the script simply fell flat last night. In my view, there was also too much focus on the preparations for the nativity, which meant that the first act's narrative dragged on to the interval. The lack of adequate sound in the venue certainly didn't help. Final grade, marked C - but with many opportunities for improvement.