A modern take on the first Christmas story

The Archdiocese of Glasgow Arts Project (AGAP) will perform '˜Sign of Contradiction: The Christmas Story' in St Joseph's Church Hall, Carbrain, on Monday, December 17.
This new take on the familiar Christmas storyn is written by  Stephen CallaghanThis new take on the familiar Christmas storyn is written by  Stephen Callaghan
This new take on the familiar Christmas storyn is written by Stephen Callaghan

AGAP is a community-based arts project which seeks to provide an inclusive, positive environment for the exploration of faith ideas through the creative arts.

Written and directed by AGAP creative director and founder Stephen Callaghan, ‘Sign of Contradiction’ gives the traditional Christmas story a modern-day twist.

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Set in the backstreets of Glasgow we find three homeless people huddled round a fire on Christmas Eve.

Mary has brought along some discarded library books for the fire, and one of them is the Bible, but Joe warns her “you go burnin’ Bibles and ye’ll have plenty of heat where you’re gaun!”

Enter Josh who suggests they might as well read it to pass the time, so they stoke the fire with “Gone With the Wind” and The Daily Record and settle down to the wise words of the “newcomer”.

From there the audience are taken on a journey to join the Holy Family in Bethlehem, with shepherds Shem and Hapheth given the fright of their lives when a bright light shines upon them.

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The innkeeper Ruben gets a right roasting from his wife Rebekah when she discovers he’s handed over the stables to a young couple and he’s paying more attention to them than on “their busiest night of the year”. Josh then takes his homeless friends o the court of King Herod and onto the temple where the holy Anna and Simeon await the coming of the Christ.

The show starts at 7.30pm and tickets costing £5 are available by calling AGAP on 0141 552 5527, emailing [email protected] or visiting www.agap.org.uk. The play lasts approximately one hour and will be followed by live music with Christmas songs and carols.