'The Twelve Days of Christmas' opens this Christmas musical and the narrators introduce the Brown family; Mum, Dad, Kevin, Linda and Gran who are preparing for another Christmas where mum is stressed, the son wants to play on the computer and the daughter is sitting by her phone waiting for a call from her boyfriend. Sounds familiar? However, it is at this point that their Christmas Day turns into something fairly unfamiliar...
When Linda receives the long-awaited phone call from Bob in Barbados and hears a Barbadian group sing
'The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy' she discovers her boyfriend has won the lottery. Henceforth, for the next twelve days she receives weird and wonderful presents. Polly the Partridge arrives on the first day and Linda and her new bird sing
'The Partridge Song' as they become acquainted. Two turtle doves are next arriving and they bring tears to Gran’s eyes as they coo
'Love Birds.' 'Three French Hens' follow which present a lovely contrast when the four calling birds that arrive the following day are from Switzerland and perform the
'Yodel song.'
The presents continue to arrive, and the five gold rings brings a lovely twist as the family are invited to the Olympics; a lovely modern equivalent! Six geese follow, and on the seventh day Linda opens the door to seven swans. At this point, the play includes two scripting choices so it is accessible for a small or large cast. The eighth present grabs Kevin’s attention as eight milkmaids turn up at the doorstep and despite appearing disinterested until this point, the young teenager jumps to their assistance! Unfortunately, things don’t go to plan when the milkmaids attempt to ride his skateboard and Kevin jumps to its protection!
'Why Can’t a Girl Be Like a P.C.' is a witty song that follows.
Nine dancing girls are the next to arrive followed by ten leaping lords who perform
'They Were Only Playing Leap Frog.' Unfortunately, the birds begin to squabble amongst themselves but are luckily interrupted by the arrival of eleven pipers.
However their row did not go unheard and the neighbours present the Brown family with a petition to vacate their household. When the drummer boy enters as the twelfth present, no one is in the mood to welcome him in.
However, the family are able to find a roof over their heads (albeit not what you’d expect) and
'Living On A Bus' keeps their spirits high.
Yet in an unexpected twist, Linda wakes up to find it has all been a horrible dream, but when that phone call arrives from Bob, he has some news which sounds horribly familiar to the whole of the Brown family...
Click the "Script & Songs" tab to read the script, look at the score and listen to the songs.
