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Click HERE to read the Script, look at the Score and listen to the Songs
Pictures Of A Christmas World
by Malcolm Sircom
Pricing & Order Info.
"What a lovely show: a multi - country Christmas."
Denise White - Headteacher - Blakenhale Junior School - Birmingham
Another Small School Special
Christmas Around The World
A Race To Catch Up With Santa
Why choose this Musical?
Flexibility
Flexible Cast size to suit YOUR group numbers, from 36 actors upwards. See "Casting" tab below.
Unlimited chorus parts - as many as you like!
Easy to stage with simple scenery - adaptable.
CDs of Backing and Vocal Tracks available
Piano/Vocal Score (Grade 5 Standard) available.
Easily constructed and manageable props.
Age range: KS2 (7 - 11 years)
Duration: 50 Minutes
Following on from the hugely successful Pictures of Christmas, this Christmas tableau brings us carols from around the world as we follow the exploits of one of Santas elves, who has become separated from Santa and his team whilst delivering on Christmas Eve. He is befriended by some children who promise to help. Aided by a toboggan and some magic dust, they set off in chase of Santa, but always arrive too late. Travelling to Europe, Australia, Central America, the Caribbean etc they see people celebrate Christmas in their customary ways and songs. Eventually he is reunited with Santa in time to celebrate Christmas.
This is a delightful show, written for children aged 7 - 11, containing 10 lovely Christmas songs from around the world. There are many possibilities for classroom work to support this show and the curriculum.
'Deck the Halls' opens the show with festivity and a group of children start to build a snowman. However, their attention is diverted to the appearance of Wisbich-one of Santa's elves, who appears to have been left behind whilst delivering presents. Eager to help, the children lend Wisbich their toboggan and with a sprinkle of magic star dust, Suzie, Katie, Sam, Jack, David and Wisbich head for a trip around the globe to try and catch up with Santa!
After a rough landing, the group find themselves in Poland just in time to hear the peasants sing 'Lullaby Jesus.' The children and Wisbich watch a peasant family carry out their Christmas traditions and discover that far more time has passed than they expected; it's already Christmas Eve! Afraid of running out of time, they jump back on the toboggan to head for France.
After a softer landing, the children and Wisbich arrive to see a French family prepare the yule log in the traditional way (perhaps this is better mimed as it involves wine and fire...) Despite being fascinated by what they see, the children barely have time to join in 'March of the Kings' before they realise Santa has already collected the letters, and so move on to the next destination-Germany. Here, Christkindl enters (she delivers the presents in Germany) and the German children rush to their presents under the tree and sing 'O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree.' Although amazed at all these different traditions that they knew nothing about, Wisbich is keen to continue and they move on with haste.
In the Caribbean, the group are surrounded by colours, garlands and costumes as the people prepare for their annual carnival. Keen that their guests should participate, the inhabitants join together to sing 'The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy.' In a close shave, Wisbich is almost unable to drag himself out of the costume competition but upon hearing that Santa has already been, nothing can prevent him and his troop from eagerly moving on as quickly as they can.
In Russia, the group are warmly invited by a family to join them in their festivities. This proves worthwhile not only as a source of food, but also as a source of information. 'Sleigh Ride' is incorporated during the meal. During a Christmas game, each child draws an object out of a dish. The grandma of the Russian children analyses the objects and puts them all together to make a prediction; someone who they are looking for comes from the North or South Pole and is going to do something important with time throughout the world. Remarkable! Struck by a new idea, Wisbich and his friends head this time for the South Pole towards Australia.
Here, the children are amazed at the glorious weather but have little time to soak up the sun before Wisbich discovers they still haven't caught up with Santa, and so they head for Canada. In a slightly different setting, the children arrive in a school hall where the pupils are putting on "Hiawatha". After the 'Huron Indian Carol' the children head for Mexico.
Here, the group witness an old Mexican tale of how the Poinsettia plant got its red leaves, and also enjoy 'The Search for the Lodging' in which a short version of the nativity is sung.
Since Mexico is Santa's last destination, the group head back to Britain having learned about Christmas around the world. Yet in a surprising twist, David wakes up discovering that it had all been a dream. But all is not lost as he joins with his friends and the rest of the cast to sing 'Deck The Halls' and he is relieved to find that he has not missed Christmas at home!
Suggested Cast List For 77 Actors
N.B. In the following list, the number shows the number of spoken lines each role has. An asterisk (*) before the character's name indicates that this character ALSO has solo or featured sung lines.
| Character Name | Number of Lines |
|---|---|
| Wisbich | 133 |
| Jack | 58 |
| David | 51 |
| Katie | 45 |
| Suzie | 43 |
| Sam | 41 |
| *Grandma | 18 |
| Narrator 4 | 17 |
| Russian Mother | 15 |
| Narrator 1 | 12 |
| Narrator 3 | 12 |
| Narrator 2 | 9 |
| *Russian Child 1 | 8 |
| British Mother | 7 |
| Tom | 7 |
| Brad | 7 |
| Mexican 1 | 7 |
| Mexican Girl | 7 |
| Narrator 5 | 7 |
| Bernice | 6 |
| Errol | 6 |
| *Russian Child 2 | 6 |
| *Russian Child 3 | 5 |
| Toby | 5 |
| Mexican 3 | 5 |
| Mexican 5 | 5 |
| Angel | 5 |
| Eve | 4 |
| Jan | 3 |
| Pierre | 3 |
| Marie | 3 |
| Pearl | 3 |
| Mexican 2 | 3 |
| Mexican 4 | 3 |
| Brave | 3 |
| Squaw | 3 |
| German Child 1 | 2 |
| German Child 2 | 2 |
| German Child 3 | 2 |
| *Innkeeper | 2 |
| Peasant 1 | 1 |
| Peasant 2 | 1 |
| Jean | 1 |
| German Child 4 | 1 |
| *Joseph | 1 |
| Mary | 1 |
Non speaking roles, who all sing as choir when not on stage: Annette (Scene three), Christkindl (Scene four), Elder (Scene five), *Grandpa (Scene six), Hiawatha, Minnehaha, Iagoo, Yenadizze and Chibiabos (Scene eight), and the following chorus groups: four Peasants (Scene two), four Caribbeans (Scene five), four Messengers and four Guests (Scene eight), and six Mexican Children (Scene nine).
Suggested Cast List For 36 Actors
N.B. In the following list, the number shows the number of spoken lines each role has. An asterisk (*) before the character's name indicates that this character ALSO has solo or featured sung lines.
| Character Name | Number of Lines |
|---|---|
| Wisbich | 133 |
| Jack | 58 |
| David | 51 |
| Katie | 45 |
| Suzie | 43 |
| Sam | 41 |
| *Grandma - also plays additional Peasant (Scene two) | 18 |
| Narrator 4 - also plays additional Caribbean (Scene five) | 17 |
| Russian Mother - also plays non speaking Mexican child (Scene nine) | 15 |
| Narrator 5 - also plays additional Caribbean and also plays British Mother | 14 |
| Narrator 1 - also plays additional Caribbean | 12 |
| Narrator 3 - also plays additional Caribbean | 12 |
| Toby - also plays Mexican 1 | 12 |
| Brad - also plays Mexican 5 | 12 |
| Errol - also plays Mexican 3 | 11 |
| *Russian Child 1 - also plays Mexican 4 | 11 |
| Tom - also plays Mexican 2 | 10 |
| Narrator 2 - also plays Elder (Scene five) | 9 |
| Mexican Girl - also plays Annette (Scene three) | 7 |
| *Russian Child 2 - also plays *Joseph | 7 |
| *Russian Child 3 - also plays Mary | 6 |
| Bernice - also plays Guest (Scene eight) | 6 |
| Angel - also plays additional Peasant (Scene two) and Christkindl (Scene four) | 5 |
| Eve - also plays Minnehaha (Scene eight) | 4 |
| Peasant 1 - also plays Brave (Scene eight) | 4 |
| Peasant 2 - also plays Squaw (Scene eight) | 4 |
| Jan - also plays Yenadizze (Scene eight) | 3 |
| Pierre - also plays Iagoo (Scene eight) | 3 |
| Marie - also plays Messenger (Scene eight) and non speaking Mexican child | 3 |
| Pearl - also plays Guest | 3 |
| German Child 1 - also plays Chibiabos (Scene eight) | 2 |
| German Child 2 - also plays Messenger (Scene eight) and non speaking Mexican child | 2 |
| German Child 3 - also plays Guest | 2 |
| *Innkeeper - also plays *Grandpa (Scene six) | 2 |
| Jean - also plays Hiawatha (Scene eight) | 1 |
| German Child 4 - also plays Guest | 1 |
All non speaking roles, who all sing as choir when not on stage: Annette (Scene three), Christkindl (Scene four), Elder (Scene five), *Grandpa (Scene six), Hiawatha, Minnehaha, Iagoo, Yenadizze and Chibiabos (Scene eight), and the following chorus groups: two Peasants (Scene two), four Caribbeans (Scene five), two Messengers and four Guests (Scene eight), and three Mexican Children (Scene nine), are covered by the speaking characters doubling parts as listed above.
Pictures Of A Christmas World
"What a lovely show. Ideal for Christmas in school. Easy to learn carols from around the world, mostly well known. A Multi-Country Christmas. Brilliant!! "Mrs Denise White, Ward End Primary School, Birmingham