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Nativity!
''Nativity!'' is a 2009 British Christmas musical comedy film directed by Debbie Isitt and released on 27 November 2009 and the first instalment in the ''Nativity'' film series. The film stars Martin Freeman and Ashley Jensen. In the film teacher Paul Maddens (Freeman) lies to his rival that Hollywood are coming to watch his school's Christmas nativity, but after the lie gets out of hand, he must resolve the issue fast. The film was written by its director, Debbie Isitt, but was also partially improvised. The film premiered on 23 November 2009 in the SkyDome Arena, Coventry, England. It was released in cinemas on 27 November 2009. The film was followed by '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'' (2012), '' Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?'' (2014), and ''Nativity Rocks!'' (2018). In 2017 a stage musical adaptation premiered and has since toured the UK over the subsequent Christmas seasons. Plot Mr Paul Maddens is a miserable, jaded teacher at St Bernadette's, a local sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nativity! The Musical
''Nativity! The Musical'' is a stage musical written and directed by Debbie Isitt (co-composed by Nicky Ager), based on Isitt's 2009 film of the same name (part of the ''Nativity'' film series). The musical follows a Coventry based primary school, St Bernadette's, where teacher Mr Maddens and his assistant, Mr Poppy mount a musical version of the nativity with the students, promising it will be adapted into a Hollywood movie. The musical features songs from the film including "Sparkle and Shine", "Nazareth", "One Night One Moment" and "She's The Brightest Star". Production history 2017 UK tour The musical made its world premiere at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 20 October to 12 November 2017, before touring to Southend Cliffs Pavilion (15 to 19 November), Sheffield Lyceum Theatre (22 to 26 November), Manchester Palace Theatre (29 November to 3 December), Plymouth Theatre Royal (6 to 10 December), London's Eventim Apollo (13 to 17 December) and Leeds Grand Theatre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debbie Isitt
Debbie Isitt (born 7 February 1966) is an English comic writer, film director, composer and performer. Early life and education Isitt was born in Birmingham. She went to Our Lady of Fatima Primary School and Lordswood Girls Secondary School and is a cousin of the footballer Darren Wassall. Career Isitt's work includes her Christmas comedy films ''Nativity!'', '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'', '' Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?'' and ''Nativity Rocks!''. She is also known for her Bafta award-winning teleplay ''The Illustrated Mum'', the stage play ''The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband'' and the feature films ''Nasty Neighbours'' and ''Confetti''. Most recently Isitt directed the ITV series ''Love and Marriage''. ''Nativity!'', Isitt's third feature film, starring Martin Freeman, was released in November 2009 and became the most successful British independent film of the year. The sequel, and her fourth film, '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'', starred David Tennant. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nativity (film Series)
The ''Nativity'' film series is a British film series of family Christmas films. Films Released films ''Nativity!'' (2009) Paul Maddens is a teacher who once had ambitions of being successful as an actor, producer or director. Every year St Bernadette's Primary School in Coventry, where he teaches, competes with a local private school. Despite this, St Bernadette's headteacher Mrs Bevans tasks him with running their nativity play this year and gives him a new class teaching assistant called Mr Poppy, who turns out to be as much of a child as the rest of Paul's class. As every year, it is one of Paul's other friends from drama school, Gordon Shakespeare, who runs the nativity plays at rival school Oakmoor. Determined not to be seen as a failure by his old rival, Paul lies to Shakespeare about how a Hollywood producer, their old friend Jennifer, will be turning his production into a Hollywood film, though he hasn't even spoken to her in five years. Mr Poppy accidentally overhears ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Films
BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'', ''Quartet'', ''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'', ''Saving Mr. Banks'', ''My Week with Marilyn'', ''Jane Eyre'', '' In the Loop'', ''An Education'', ''StreetDance 3D'', ''Fish Tank'', ''The History Boys'', ''Nativity!'', ''Iris'', ''Notes on a Scandal'', '' Philomena'', ''Stan & Ollie'', '' Man Up'', ''Billy Elliot'' and ''Brooklyn''. BBC Film co-produces around eight films a year, working in partnership with major international and UK distributors. Rose Garnett is Head of BBC Film, responsible for the development and production slate, strategy and business operations. The company was founded in 1990 by David M. Thompson as a wholly owned but independent film-making company, based in offices in Mortimer Street, London. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most notable roles are that of Tim Canterbury in the mockumentary series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), Dr. John Watson in the British crime drama series '' Sherlock'' (2010–2017), young Bilbo Baggins in ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy (2012–2014), and Lester Nygaard in the first season of the dark comedy-crime drama series ''Fargo'' (2014). He has also appeared in films including the romantic comedy ''Love Actually'' (2003), the horror comedy ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), the sci-fi comedy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (2005), the action comedy ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), the semi-improvised comedy ''Nativity!'' (2009), the sci-fi comedy '' The World's End'' (2013), and as Everett K. Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason Watkins
Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also played William Herrick in '' Being Human'', Gavin Strong in ''Trollied'', Simon Harwood in ''W1A,'' Gordon Shakespeare in the film series '' Nativity'', British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in Season 3 of ''The Crown'' and Detective Sergeant Dodds in ''McDonald & Dodds''. Early life Watkins was born in Windsor Road, Albrighton, Shropshire, where he lived until the age of seven, when his parents moved to Wolverhampton. His father Alan was a metallurgist and his mother a teacher at Albrighton's primary school. He credits his introduction to entertainment to taking lessons in clowning at Bridgnorth from mime artist Ben Benison, also a presenter on TV programme ''Vision On''. Career Stage Following his training at the Royal Academy of Drama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed by Coventry City Council. Historic counties of England, Formerly part of Warwickshire until 1451, Coventry had a population of 345,328 at the 2021 census, making it the tenth largest city in England and the 12th largest in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest city in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, after Birmingham, from which it is separated by an area of Green belt (United Kingdom), green belt known as the Meriden Gap, and the third largest in the wider Midlands after Birmingham and Leicester. The city is part of a larger conurbation known as the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area, which in 2021 had a population of 389,603. Coventry is east-south-east of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nativity Rocks!
''Nativity! 4: Nativity Rocks!'' is a 2018 comedy film and the fourth instalment of the Nativity film series by Debbie Isitt. It stars Simon Lipkin, Celia Imrie, Craig Revel Horwood, Helen George, Ruth Jones & Daniel Boys and Dave Tooth. Like its predecessors, it was distributed by Entertainment One. Plot Doru, a child refugee from Syria, is separated from his father as he arrives in the United Kingdom. He is moved to Coventry by social worker Miss Shelly and joins St Bernadette's Primary School, where he meets new teaching assistant Jerry Poppy, who assists him in his search for his father, amid another Christmas musical production for the school, led by impresario Emmanuel Cavendish. Jerry Poppy is immediately suspicious that Cavendish and he have met before, believing that his mother used to clean Cavendish's parents' house before Cavendish framed Jerry for stealing a brooch. With nowhere to stay, Jerry and Doru end up staying with Barnaby, a lonely boy with rich parents who ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pam Ferris
Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including ''Connie'' (1985), '' The Darling Buds of May'' (1991–1993), '' Where the Heart Is'' (1997–2000), ''Rosemary & Thyme'' (2003–2006), and ''Call the Midwife'' (2012–2016). For her role as Peggy Snow in ''Where the Heart Is'' she was nominated three times for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards. In film, Ferris played Miss Agatha Trunchbull in ''Matilda'' (1996), Aunt Marge in ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' (2004), Miriam in '' Children of Men'' (2006), Mrs. Bevan in ''Nativity!'' (2009), voiced Mrs. Bennett / Aunty Betty in '' Ethel & Ernest'' (2016) and played Mrs. Faulkner in ''Tolkien'' (2019). In theatre, her performance as Phoebe Rice in '' The Entertainer'' at The Old Vic in London saw her nominated for the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. Early life Ferris was born on 11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Carr
Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeoned on the Manchester comedy circuit before he became known for co-hosting ''The Friday Night Project'' (2006–2009) with Justin Lee Collins. This led to the release of a short-lived entertainment show '' Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong'' (2008), and he went on to star in the comedy chat show '' Alan Carr: Chatty Man'' (2009–2016) which aired on Channel 4. Since 2017, Carr often stands in as a team captain on ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown''. In 2019, he became a judge on ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK''. In 2021, he took over from Fearne Cotton as host of BBC’s '' Interior Design Masters''. Carr hosted the radio show ''Going Out with Alan Carr'' on BBC Radio 2 (2009–2012), as well as releasing his autobiography book ''Look Who It Is!'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashley Jensen
Ashley Jensen (born 11 August 1969) is a Scottish actress and narrator. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on the television series '' Extras'', in which she appeared from 2005 to 2007. She was a cast member of the ABC series ''Ugly Betty'' and the short-lived CBS sitcom '' Accidentally on Purpose''. She also plays the main character in the comedy-drama detective television series ''Agatha Raisin''. Career Jensen trained in Drama at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. Her first significant television role was as Clare Donnelly, daughter of Glasgow criminal Jo-Jo Donnelly (played by Billy Connolly) in the 1993 BBC drama ''Down Among the Big Boys''. In 1994, she played eccentric secretary Rosie McConnichy in the final series of BBC comedy ''May to December'', as a replacement for the character of secretary Hilary (Rebecca Lacey), and Heather in '' Roughnecks'', a BBC television series about workers on a North Sea oil platform. Jensen had a small role in a '' Dangerf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marc Wootton
Marc James Wootton (born 8 February 1975) is an English actor, comedian and writer, best known for his role as Mr Poppy in the ''Nativity!'' film series. Wootton has also appeared in ''High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman'', ''La La Land'', ''Nighty Night'' and voiced Max in ''Counterfeit Cat''. Career Wootton previously starred in the Channel 4 comedy show ''The Eleven O'Clock Show'', BBC Three, the show ''Cyderdelic'', the Channel 4 comedy gameshow '' My New Best Friend'', in which contestants had to convince their closest friends and relatives that the most awful of people (played by Wootton) were their new best friends for a prize of £10,000, E4 comedy ''The Pilot Show'' and the BBC Two Sitcom '' Thin Ice''. He also wrote and starred in the BBC Three sketch show '' Marc Wootton Exposed'', the first series of which started on 13 January and finished on 25 February 2008. Wootton played the role of softly spoken dating agent Gary Furze (Lasso The Moon agency) in the first se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
