"Poshest" roles in a typical nativity play

[SympatheticSwan]

Lighthearted obviously.

It's this time of the year again and, as a foreign parent, I am again amazed by the level of intrigue around the casting decisions for the school's nativity play.

AIBU to ask you to help me understand what is the "hierarchy" of roles in a typical nativity play? I deduced myself that Mary is the lead role (but it does not seem that Joseph commands the same level of respect for boys), and livestock ranks below all, but what about the rest? Shepherd? Three wise men? Townsfolk? Innkeeper? Talking penguins?

Woody, I'd suggest skinny jeans, Joules Breton striped top and a pair of heeled 'mum' boots. Finish off with highlighted blonde hair and immaculate face of make-up.

Mine got their parts today. DD2 (aged 4) is Mary in the foundation stage nativity. DD2 is a ‘disco star’ in the KS1 play. I’m not sure what that involves!

@EoinMcLovesCakeJumper Either we went to the same school (unlikely!) or that song wasn't written by your music teacher, as I also know it

I think my school stopped doing 'normal' nativity plays fairly early, once I was cast as Caesars wife - who apparently had a shopping problem - and the next year I was a candle.

@WombleishOfTheThighs really??? The lying mare! She gave us the sheet music with her name at the top as composer and everything. I went to school in North Yorkshire btw, if that helps...

Woodymiller I think that Nevergot has that down to a tee! Maybe with a body warmer/gilet too! Omg we have one of this description right at the front of the door at pick up time

Mary in our play is not a lead role....she's silent and only turns up towards the end !!!!!

@EoinMcLovesCakeJumper at my most charitable (for Xmas!) perhaps she made an arrangement for it, and that’s what she was claiming as her own.

But I also (south, since many years) have heard straaaaaaa-aaangers many a time!

My last teaching post was in an all-boys school (7-18).
Casting in these circumstances gives rise to a whole different set of issues. Mary has to be convincingly sweet of features, whilst being sufficiently robust to withstand joshing. It can be interesting to observe which little thesps are very comfortable in a blue dress.

@tanith 😂😂

Nowadays girls can also be cast as kings or shepherds and boys as the angel.

I'm female and I played a King in my school Nativity 37 years ago!

I don't know about the poshest roles, I think they're allocated to do with children's personalities more than anything. I have 3 daughters and they all wanted to be angels, as did all their friends so I think angels are most popular roles according to the children. My eldest daughter, who's very shy, was a sheep. My middle daughter, who's very reliable and responsible was Mary and my youngest daughter, who loves dancing, was an angel in a pretty white ballet leotard, tutu and wings prancing around.

@EoinMcLovesCakeJumper I'm in Northumberland. Your music teacher was a fibber. However, I, too, like @Ellisandra, can be charitable, she may have done her own arrangement of it.

Well I was a little girl and was cast three years in a row as Angel Gabriel 😂 none of the boys wanted to be angels

m.youtube.com/watch?v=HIF-rN49J1U

@EoinMcLovesCakeJumper singalong for a nostalgia blast!

Mary and Joseph are given to the pair who can hold hands without thumping each other or looking as if they are going to vomit in disgust!

I was Mary. I was very jealous that Cindy Kelso got to be the narrator

I wasn’t allowed to be an angel because “ angels don’t wear glasses” they were pink metallic glasses perfect for an angel. I was incandescent 2 years later when DSis landed the roll of Angel Gabriel wearing a pair of brown glasses for goodness sake!
DS was the donkey in his first nativity, pretty safe so I thought. But no he was on stage throughout with Joseph and Mary and even had a whole song about him. It explained the comments I had from a couple of mums with older DC who were in the know. His best friend was Joseph and spent the whole time stroking his donkey ears.

I wasn’t allowed to be an angel because “ angels don’t wear glasses”
That is really awful.

I was the Angel and Mary on subsequent years...

Our school is so small that children often have two roles to play ds has landed narrator this year which, considering he didn't speak for the first year of school, is quite a shocker!

@Ellisandra @WombleishOfTheThighs
No, sod her. No Christmas charity for that plagiaristic cow. I'm very much agin her anyway, because once she told us all off for pronouncing "pass" in the northern way when we were doing When a Child is Born at a carol concert. I mentioned to my dad that she'd told us we all had to sing "this comes to parrrse, when a child is born" because the other pronunciation is common, and I don't know how he didn't march down to the school there and then to bollock her in person.

I was a donkey in the nativity and a cow in the annual end of year play. I knew my place.

I was narrator for years, with loads of lines. I hated it- all the pretty girls were angels and got tinsel halos!
My favourite role was shepherd when I got to carry the toy lamb.

@EoinMcLovesCakeJumper Shame on her

There's so many variations of the traditional school play now, I don't think there is a hierarchy as such.

Main parts are given to children who are well behaved and have parents who we know will help them learn their lines.