so i know this is unrelated to the video, but a while ago you and your wife did a reaction to the great kilt video by fandabidozi, in that video he promised to do a followup one on the womens version of the plaid. he had done that now its called 'The Earasaid' just thought your wife might really like it.
Brit here, first time I have heard of the Flint Street Nativity. Looks fantastic. The cast is an absolute who's who of top flight British sitcom and comedic drama talent of the time.
I saw this ~25 years ago on the telly, and it is absolutely brilliant. A rare film that will make you laugh and cry at the same time. Unfortunately it has been totally slept on and I don't think I've ever seen it repeated. It really should be on *every* December just as much as _the snowman_
written by Tim Firth (also wrote Calendar Girls) and starring Frank Skinner, Neil Morrissey, Jane Horrocks, John Thomson, Stephen Tompkinson, Mark Addy, Ralf Little, Julia Sawalha, Mina Anwar and Dervla Kirwan. All top notch well known actors.
I had actually never seen this before but could obviously tell it was not a recent production. I think most of us recognise this as the standard nativity experience at school. I was born in 1969 so same decade as Tim Firth the writer but my eldest daughter's infant school produced a traditional nativity and she was the narrator when she was 6 years old in 1999 and at that time the music format with The First Noelle and Little Donkey was still guaranteed! I have grandchildren now and as there are more restrictions on audience numbers and less performances put on I haven't seen this year's nativity at my grandsons infant school but I'm guessing there's a few more variations and changes to the music used in any nativity plays (although I was pleased to learn my grandson was to be a shepard this year, with of course the obligatory tea-towel headdress. Mind you I had forgotten how in the 70's /80's we all had stripey dressing gowns! 🤣
When he said his gran was only 38 to 40 and he saw it inside her cardigan, he was looking at the label which in adults records size but in children records age and mixing up the two.
My wife is very small and often finds many shops don't do her size. One day she needed some smart grey trousers for a job but couldn't find any. I suddenly thought of school uniforms so I went up to an assistant in the shop we were in and asked where girls school uniforms were, she asked what age I wanted and looked very confused when I said 37!
@simonrobbins8357 haha, I feel your wife's pain. I often find it difficult to find 'adult' trousers/jeans that fit me. I do recommend Next though - they often do the same style jeans in the children's section as the adult - but they're tax free and they fit me! 😁 lol.
@@camrileyI understood it as the European sizing which indicates his nan got the cardigan from a market stall. A 38-40 is a uk 10-12 or S/M. It's my size.
This was an absolute delight. I have not seen it before so didn't know what to expect. The actors are all well-known here and didn't disappoint. The ending with the dad who wouldn't come in because mum has a new partner was so well done - understated yet full of meaning. Thank you for reacting to it. I doubt I'd have seen it otherwise. A happy New Year to you all.
The film is set in the fictitious inner city Flint Street Primary School, on the Welsh-Cheshire borders. It focuses on the seven- and eight-year-old pupils.
I remember watching this when it was first on TV but haven't seen it since. The boy/man in the cardboard donkey head is Mark Addy, well known for his roles in The Full Monty and as King Robert Baratheon in Game Of Thrones.
Most of the actors are well known in the UK - some in quite serious roles so lovely to see them with a sense of humour. 38 to 40 was the size of the cardigan 😀 The Squeaky recorder music is hilarious It shows how kids hear everything and the things they don't understand they just make up explanations for. Michael Owen (the Iguana) is the name of a UK footballer
OMG! The Flint Street Nativity! This is one of our favourite 'Go-to' Christmas films!!!!! I LOVE IT!!! It's not nearly as well known as it deserves to be! It was only an hour long because it was made to be broadcast on TV in a regular hour-long prime slot in the days when linear TV was the main way we watched. All the actors are well known comedy actors from UK TV at that time. All Primary Schools in the UK put on a version of the Nativity Play (the story of the first Christmas) every year in December, and so the idea of kids putting on this play is very familiar to everyone who has either grown up or had kids grow up in the UK. Having helped to choreograph many of these over the years- this representation isn't far from reality!!!! (Not many include an escaped class pet, but apart from that.....) Lindsay: Do you ever wonder what teachers hear? Me (as an ex Primary school teacher): You would not BELIEVE what teachers know about children's family lives! Note to all parents- your child will NOT tell the lie you've rehearsed them in once they are in school! The truth will out.....
The headteacher at our sons’ primary school said at a meeting before they started there, “If you believe half of the things your children tell you happens at school, we will believe half of what they tell us happens at home”! 😂😂. Funny but so true.
Yes, we absolutely have wondered that 😅 I'm sure it's quite entertaining (and even maybe sometimes a bit sad) to be a teacher and hear the things you hear. ❤️
I recorded this off TV some years ago but it hasn't been shown much at all. I love watching it every Christmas. It is interesting at the end, comparing the children with their parents. Michael Owen, the Iguana, is named after a popular soccer player of the time.
Hi Guys , ours kids here do a nativity when in nursery school aged 2yrs to 4rys , my oliver was an Angel still rember it well and he's now 26 yrs old . Funny how kids tend to shout instead of sing 😂😂. This cheered me up 😊
We have a history of this style of acting, a comedy legend from the 70's called Terry Scott 'a man in his forties' played a little school boy in full uniform, it was used for an Advert for a classic Sweet called Curly Wurly.
@@carolineskipper6976 David Attenborough certainly says ig-wah-naz in his recent natural world series. But I've no idea how he pronounced it in his old B&W days and, like you, I was brought up with ig-u-ana too
@@FC-PeakVersatility It's the same with 'sloth' and 'sloath'. before the ice age films introduced us to the US way of saying it we always said 'sloath', but now most people say 'sloth'.
Lots of in jokes. The one with the chains round his neck is comedian Frank Skinner from my home town. He wrote the football song Three Lions with David Baddiel, thats why all the football references.
The "little donkey" was Muffin the Mule, one of the first children's television characters. The boy with the head was an ox. I remember during my training as a teacher, we had to spend at least a day with each age group. This is exactly how the infant pupils were. The teacher in the play was not too harsh, dealing with 30 like this every day is enough to make anyone get a little grumpy 😂
This was great, there's some big stars from British tv here, many have had top sitcoms, dramas and even movie's. It's amazing to see a cast this strong, doing this kind of show, looks like there playing kids that would be about yr 1, 2 or 3. In case you're not on tomorrow would like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year 🎉
I absolutely love this!!!!! I had it on VHS 😂. That is how old I am! Some brilliant actors and comedians are playing 5 to 6 year olds doing the school nativity. Genius! One of my favourites to re watch.
What an amazing cast and script...lovely to see these actors having such a great time! Hard work trying to recognise them all and name the role that made them most famous----all looking a bit younger than last time we watched them working!
That was absolutely wonderful. It’s a sign of a great comedy when it can make you laugh, cry and then laugh again in quick succession. “Flint Street Nativity” is going on my “watch every Christmas” list now. Thank you to the person who recommended this, and to both of you for reacting to it. xx
I saw this when it first came out (25 years ago!). The cast was like a roll call of UK comedy actors at the time. It made a lasting impression and is a regular repeat at Christmas even now - grandson loves it. Michael Owen was a Liverpool and England footballer at the time, hence the jokey name for the iguana!
I am a retired Primary School teacher, teaching mainly 6 to 7 year old children. A veteran of many, many Nativity plays, I think I could write my own version. One Christmas, 'Joseph' vomited all over 'baby Jesus.' The 'Angel Gabriel' and 'Mary' looked on in disgust and started inching away from scene and came close to falling off the stage. We stopped the performance, cleaned up, and started again...minus Joseph.
OMG I LOVED this! I tried for years to get a copy of it to rewatch and managed to about five years ago. We have watched it every year at Christmas since 😂😂
Something similar, but a bit darker, and from 1979, is 'Blue Remembered Hills', by Dennis Potter. Set in rural England, during WW2, it has 7 well known British actors (5 male, 2 female), playing the parts of children.
I was thinking of the same thing, it does get somewhat heavy though and I’ve never seen you watch anything similar. But, again, they’re only acting. Brilliantly.
Hello. This was great!!! I played the star & the next year I played a Scottish girl. It brought back so many memories. Barley Lane Infants School. Essex 🥳🥳 This coming from a now 61 year old. Thank you. Jane in New Zealand 🇬🇧 🇳🇿
Way back in 1961 I was meant to be Mary in our school Nativity play (a rite of passage in the UK). Just before it was going to be shown I broke my arm and they relegated me to the back row as a non speaking angel. I never forgot. All of the actors and actresses are famous in the UK and have all been in many great shows on TV.
44:00 "...an 'ave got a veruka so I've gotta wear this on mi foot" he has a veruka... you also missed the great joke, 38-40 being the size of granny's cardigan...
Flint Street was made in 1999. The "children" are seven and eight year olds. How time flies. The story is based on real events, collected over ten years from members of Tim Firth's (writer) family and friends who were teachers. Flint Street Primary School is modelled on Stockton Heath Primary School, where Firth attended and his mother taught. All the actresses are wearing one piece swimsuits three sizes too small. To give them a more childlike, flattened look.
There are still many school buildings here in the UK that were built back in the 1900-1930`s, that look just like this, in and out. My daughter went to one and now my granddaughter goes to the same one. They have added classrooms and a new dining hall/assembley hall. The teachers are much nicer these days and are very aware of the childrens mental health etc., ....The actors in this are very well known in the UK.
Nativity plays are a common sort of school thing here in the UK, at least they were when I was at school, & in my children's days at school. Children at the school play the parts of people in the Christmas story, sometimes with carols included. Parents come to watch in the school hall or theatre space. There is a bit of rivalry to play the lead parts etc.
The furniture is a tad cheeky. In schools it's kid sized, including the bogs. I'll lay odds you can just rent an oversize lavvy from a props agency though.
Parents messed up the the kids. Kids still need their parents approval & attention. So sad but so real. Watch it again with closer attention. Bear in mind that this was made in the UK so do not expect happy endings. The dad at the end was separated from his wife who was sitting in the audience with another man. This is not supposed to be a feel good production - but maybe a teaching moment? Seasons greetings to one & all.
As a Scot, I think I just realised why I'm so fascinated by your channel (and a few similar ones). It comes down to something the great bard (Rabbie Burns) wrote in To A Louse: "O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us / To see oursels as ithers see us!" In a way, your channel is that gift, enabling us Brits (and Scots) to see ourselves from another perspective.
As a fellow Scottish I've watched a few Americans travel around where I now live (Edinburgh) and all those things I don't even notice anymore, inc the castle, seen through fresh eyes makes u really appreciate what u have here. Same when they taste test food n stuff. Tho I lived in US for a few yrs and can attest to how bad the food quality and taste is.
Oh, grandparents generally get a far more relaxed Christmas than you parents enjoy. Our kids now think we're incapable of carving the goose or of walking off excess eating with brisk forest jaunts. Our grandsons assume we cant't understand computer games and certainly would die if we even attempted Boxing Day family rugger in the paddock. We just get to eat, be served hand and foot, and spoil the smallest ankle-biters after they come home with bloody knees and bruised egos!! 😅
Oh yes, and we get to claim the armchair by the fire where we get quietly tipsy and get taxied to and from, whichever daughter gets to be host this year, by the son in law. Rince and repeat on Boxing day with the other daughter.
Fantastic cast some of the best in the UK. The transition from 7 year old child to the "parent" was clever and a tad unsettling. Even at 7 years old, the children show signs of peer and social pressure. It's such a fabulous watch. Happy New Year 🔔🔔🔔
In scotland the primary 1s play the nativity characters with older kids helping song song from thw front few rows. Our primary 1s and between 4 and 5 years old.
I don't know how I missed this. Maybe it wasn't broadcast in Scotland. But it was hilarious. I'll watch it again to hear the dialogue missed when I was helpless with laughter. Thanks for showing it.
Funnily enough the guys that did Peter Pan Goes Wrong did a play similar to this called Groan Ups, sadly never recorded but there is a clip from a royal variety performance or similar on TH-cam
I seen this she I was 5 and laughed about a certain 2 scenes of the superglue hair and the I dares yahh. Until I was 25 year old but me and my brother didn’t know what it was called. Until at 25 I managed to figure it out and found a dvd of it on eBay lmao
I can't say I've ever seen this before It couldn't have been aired frequently but judging by the youthful looks of the cast I would guess this was made in the late 90's and I was probably too young to have appreciated this when it first came out.
I'd forgotten this film - absolutely brilliant with some great actors in it. In case you didn't know Michael Owen was a football player. They were playing the parents at the end.
At the end, the children's characters eventually evolve into mirror images of their parents when the actors all appear as their parents (the play's audience) at the post-show gathering. The teacher (Lynn Hunter) is never seen.
We watch this every Christmas Eve. Still as funny as when I first saw it. My parents were on the PTA of my school and have confirmed that it was little bit like the ending.
*Good Morning my favourite TH-camrs!* 😁 Wait....over an HOUR? You're spoiling us! Primary School - Reception class age 4+ Year 1 age 5+ Year 2 age 6+ Year 3 age 7+ Year 4 age 8+ When I went to school you had Infants School aged 4-8 (now called Primary) then Middle School from aged 8-12, then onto Secondary School aged 12-16. But because Primary School is made up of Key Stages 1-2, and Secondary School is made up of Key Stages 3-4, in many areas Middle Schools were gotten rid of, so kids weren't changing schools in the middle of their Key stages 1-2. A few still remain here and there, mostly because the building itself is still adequate, and because a lot of Primary Schools are too small to house all children up to age 11, but for the most part, and what will eventually happen, is no Middle Schools will remain at all. All Primary Schools will eventually be knocked down and built bigger, or greatly extended, to make room for children in their "middle school" ages range. So, the Kids in this Primary School production, filmed in 1999, would be based on Primary Schools and Middle Schools still both existing as separate things. Meaning the Fleet Street Primary "kids" are around 7-8 and not any older than that, whereas the majority of Primary Schools today go up to age 11. We say Iguana the same as you. These are kids. 😂 Don't your kids do a Nativity every year at school too? In the background did you hear (what was supposed to be) children playing recorders? I don't know if kids learn to play them over there? Similar to the Irish tin pipe Sofia got. I still have my recorder and can play all of those Christmas carols from memory, and can sing them all too. Kids here always do a Nativity every year, and yes, every year I longed to be Mary but never got chosen. I was angel Gabriel once though, but usually a shephard with a checkered tea towel on my head! Or playing the recorder. (The recorder was Henry VIII's favourite instrument btw, fun fact 😊) Lots of love to you 3! 😘😘😘 xxxxx
haha thanks for explaining Tami! Not usually a nativity anymore--those are reserved for church plays. I think the elementary schools here just tend to do a more secular Christmas/Winter themed performance. And yes, the kids here do "learn" recorder but I don't think it's very in-depth. 😅
The boy in the donkey's head who wet himself was wearing a plastic bag on his foot because he had a verruca and it was a bizarre way of preventing him from passing it onto others.
ok third take... now i've finished! The dad at the end was not staying at home, he wasn't allowed to go in and see his son which is why he had to pass a message. So many other small cultural references throughout which were very much of the day. The whole thing is veryyyy nostalgic british primary school nativity, but as times have moved on, none of this would be replicated well today. I was like 11 when this came out. I'm so glad to have seen this again, thanks!
this is actually a pretty stellar cast. well done to them all. and aye :D cheers for reacting to it, thoroughly enjoyed it. you are both now really starting to get where we come from. :D nice one (Y)
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Wishing you a happy and healthy New year. 🎉
Thank you for keeping us entertained.
💙 From Scotland
so i know this is unrelated to the video, but a while ago you and your wife did a reaction to the great kilt video by fandabidozi, in that video he promised to do a followup one on the womens version of the plaid. he had done that now its called 'The Earasaid' just thought your wife might really like it.
Brit here, first time I have heard of the Flint Street Nativity. Looks fantastic.
The cast is an absolute who's who of top flight British sitcom and comedic drama talent of the time.
Amazing they managed to cast it with only one person from Game of Thrones.
I've also have never heard of this film.
I saw this ~25 years ago on the telly, and it is absolutely brilliant. A rare film that will make you laugh and cry at the same time.
Unfortunately it has been totally slept on and I don't think I've ever seen it repeated. It really should be on *every* December just as much as _the snowman_
Really? Interested to look them up, as none of them seemed familiar to us.
@@slowerthinker Seconded.
The discordant singing and the wooden way the kids are talking on stage, and those bloody recorders just takes me right back😂😂
Recorders. I still experience flashbacks with those things.
Oh the recorders 😂😂
I haven’t seen this before, very funny, and good well known actors taking part. Cleverly done.😂🇬🇧
written by Tim Firth (also wrote Calendar Girls)
and starring Frank Skinner, Neil Morrissey, Jane Horrocks, John Thomson, Stephen Tompkinson, Mark Addy, Ralf Little, Julia Sawalha, Mina Anwar and Dervla Kirwan.
All top notch well known actors.
I had actually never seen this before but could obviously tell it was not a recent production. I think most of us recognise this as the standard nativity experience at school. I was born in 1969 so same decade as Tim Firth the writer but my eldest daughter's infant school produced a traditional nativity and she was the narrator when she was 6 years old in 1999 and at that time the music format with The First Noelle and Little Donkey was still guaranteed! I have grandchildren now and as there are more restrictions on audience numbers and less performances put on I haven't seen this year's nativity at my grandsons infant school but I'm guessing there's a few more variations and changes to the music used in any nativity plays (although I was pleased to learn my grandson was to be a shepard this year, with of course the obligatory tea-towel headdress. Mind you I had forgotten how in the 70's /80's we all had stripey dressing gowns! 🤣
Lol the kids playing the recorders 🤣
Oh the memories
Yeah, the ones not hitting the notes, you know are full of spit! 😂
When he said his gran was only 38 to 40 and he saw it inside her cardigan, he was looking at the label which in adults records size but in children records age and mixing up the two.
@@shonagriffiths8907 yes, it's the chest measurement
My wife is very small and often finds many shops don't do her size. One day she needed some smart grey trousers for a job but couldn't find any. I suddenly thought of school uniforms so I went up to an assistant in the shop we were in and asked where girls school uniforms were, she asked what age I wanted and looked very confused when I said 37!
@@simonrobbins8357 that made me laugh out loud🤣🤣🤣
@simonrobbins8357 haha, I feel your wife's pain. I often find it difficult to find 'adult' trousers/jeans that fit me. I do recommend Next though - they often do the same style jeans in the children's section as the adult - but they're tax free and they fit me! 😁 lol.
@@camrileyI understood it as the European sizing which indicates his nan got the cardigan from a market stall. A 38-40 is a uk 10-12 or S/M. It's my size.
I'd never seen that before, but it was filled with a bunch of award winning actors.
The wooden donkey is really Muffin the mule.
He appeared in one of the first BBC programmes for preschool children between 1946/57.
It was part of Watch with mother along side Bill and Ben and Andy pandy
I’d never seen it before. Got me in stitches🤣. They are all very good actors,well known.
This was an absolute delight. I have not seen it before so didn't know what to expect. The actors are all well-known here and didn't disappoint. The ending with the dad who wouldn't come in because mum has a new partner was so well done - understated yet full of meaning.
Thank you for reacting to it. I doubt I'd have seen it otherwise.
A happy New Year to you all.
Seconded.
Thank you. Happy New Year to you as well!
The actors are all well known here in the UK. They normally always play comedy roles in sitcoms and quiz shows. Some of them are stand up comedians.
Brit here first time ive seen this absolutley brilliant
The film is set in the fictitious inner city Flint Street Primary School, on the Welsh-Cheshire borders. It focuses on the seven- and eight-year-old pupils.
I’m a Brit ..first time seeing this ..was great ..all these actors are quite famous..and so clever
I think you guys would love some classic British TV like “The Vicar of Dibley” and “Blackadder”
Check out mr Bean too
Vicar of Dibly is a must they would love it….
Don't forget The Royle Famiy! Ricky Tomlinson is a must!
For sure the one that springs to mind is the christmas one on the farm.🤣
I remember watching this when it was first on TV but haven't seen it since. The boy/man in the cardboard donkey head is Mark Addy, well known for his roles in The Full Monty and as King Robert Baratheon in Game Of Thrones.
And brilliant in The Full Monty.
You should check out the Movie "Nativity" with real child actors, it is hilarious. It is more than just a Nativity there is a whole storyline.
I don't think that movie can go on TH-cam unfortunately
Most of the actors are well known in the UK - some in quite serious roles so lovely to see them with a sense of humour.
38 to 40 was the size of the cardigan 😀
The Squeaky recorder music is hilarious
It shows how kids hear everything and the things they don't understand they just make up explanations for.
Michael Owen (the Iguana) is the name of a UK footballer
Thank you for providing some context for us, Linda :)
Many of these actors have often worked in theatre some being full Shakespearean actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Jane Horrocks!! Brilliant actress! And cute. Never seen this.
Too good, it was harder to believe her adult character.
She can really sing also check out the movie Little Voice.
I have not seen this film. Don't know why, it has most of the best talent available at the time. So clever and so funny, thanks for the review.
From a ex pat Brit living in rural Canada. Happy New year Xx
I had not heard or watched this nativity. All those known actors ... Brilliant and delightful.
UK here, this was one of the best Christmas tv programmes ever, I can't believe it was nearly 25 years ago! I still watch it x
We really enjoyed it! :)
@@reactingtomyroots ❤
OMG! The Flint Street Nativity! This is one of our favourite 'Go-to' Christmas films!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!
It's not nearly as well known as it deserves to be!
It was only an hour long because it was made to be broadcast on TV in a regular hour-long prime slot in the days when linear TV was the main way we watched. All the actors are well known comedy actors from UK TV at that time.
All Primary Schools in the UK put on a version of the Nativity Play (the story of the first Christmas) every year in December, and so the idea of kids putting on this play is very familiar to everyone who has either grown up or had kids grow up in the UK. Having helped to choreograph many of these over the years- this representation isn't far from reality!!!! (Not many include an escaped class pet, but apart from that.....)
Lindsay: Do you ever wonder what teachers hear?
Me (as an ex Primary school teacher): You would not BELIEVE what teachers know about children's family lives! Note to all parents- your child will NOT tell the lie you've rehearsed them in once they are in school! The truth will out.....
The headteacher at our sons’ primary school said at a meeting before they started there, “If you believe half of the things your children tell you happens at school, we will believe half of what they tell us happens at home”! 😂😂. Funny but so true.
Not all of them unfortunately. Some do a non-secular winter play.
Yes, we absolutely have wondered that 😅 I'm sure it's quite entertaining (and even maybe sometimes a bit sad) to be a teacher and hear the things you hear. ❤️
@@reactingtomyroots Luckily most of it is just funny.
@@AndrewwarrenAndrew I think you mean 'secular' Non secular would be religious.
I recorded this off TV some years ago but it hasn't been shown much at all. I love watching it every Christmas. It is interesting at the end, comparing the children with their parents. Michael Owen, the Iguana, is named after a popular soccer player of the time.
The actors in this are very well known respected and masters of their craft. All the cast are A Listers in the UK entertainment world.
Hi Guys , ours kids here do a nativity when in nursery school aged 2yrs to 4rys , my oliver was an Angel still rember it well and he's now 26 yrs old . Funny how kids tend to shout instead of sing 😂😂. This cheered me up 😊
We have a history of this style of acting, a comedy legend from the 70's called Terry Scott 'a man in his forties' played a little school boy in full uniform, it was used for an Advert for a classic Sweet called Curly Wurly.
All these actors are big in the UK.
I've not heard of this one before and I'm born and bred English lol
Should be interesting
We say iguana the same way… remember it’s supposed to be kids saying things. 😂
Actually, a lot of people in the UK say Ig-u-ana.
@@carolineskipper6976 I've never heard anyone say it that way before... but then to be honest iguanas rarely come up in conversation.
I pronounce it liz erd.
@@carolineskipper6976 David Attenborough certainly says ig-wah-naz in his recent natural world series. But I've no idea how he pronounced it in his old B&W days and, like you, I was brought up with ig-u-ana too
@@FC-PeakVersatility It's the same with 'sloth' and 'sloath'. before the ice age films introduced us to the US way of saying it we always said 'sloath', but now most people say 'sloth'.
Lots of in jokes. The one with the chains round his neck is comedian Frank Skinner from my home town. He wrote the football song Three Lions with David Baddiel, thats why all the football references.
never heard of this so really interested to find out
Lol
@kathleenhyde771 it's definitely a British thing I was in them alot
@@paultheretrogamer I’m a Brummie but I meant I had never heard of this film
@kathleenhyde771 oh got you
The "little donkey" was Muffin the Mule, one of the first children's television characters. The boy with the head was an ox.
I remember during my training as a teacher, we had to spend at least a day with each age group. This is exactly how the infant pupils were. The teacher in the play was not too harsh, dealing with 30 like this every day is enough to make anyone get a little grumpy 😂
Thank goodness for teaching assistants and parent helpers!
haha very true! Can't imagine the amount of patience it would require.
Magic! I had fits laughing. Wonderful stuff.🤣
This was great, there's some big stars from British tv here, many have had top sitcoms, dramas and even movie's. It's amazing to see a cast this strong, doing this kind of show, looks like there playing kids that would be about yr 1, 2 or 3. In case you're not on tomorrow would like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year 🎉
We say iguana the same way you guys do. 🎄
I absolutely love this!!!!! I had it on VHS 😂. That is how old I am! Some brilliant actors and comedians are playing 5 to 6 year olds doing the school nativity. Genius! One of my favourites to re watch.
This is brilliant. All the actors in this are very well known from all different TV show's.
Not seen this since it was broadcast 25 years ago, forgot how brilliant it is, was a joy to watch with you - thanks!
What an amazing cast and script...lovely to see these actors having such a great time! Hard work trying to recognise them all and name the role that made them most famous----all looking a bit younger than last time we watched them working!
That was absolutely wonderful. It’s a sign of a great comedy when it can make you laugh, cry and then laugh again in quick succession. “Flint Street Nativity” is going on my “watch every Christmas” list now.
Thank you to the person who recommended this, and to both of you for reacting to it. xx
I saw this when it first came out (25 years ago!). The cast was like a roll call of UK comedy actors at the time. It made a lasting impression and is a regular repeat at Christmas even now - grandson loves it. Michael Owen was a Liverpool and England footballer at the time, hence the jokey name for the iguana!
This has been one of my go to Christmas films since I was a kid. Had it on VHS and now have it on dvd.
Surprising how few people know about it.
Your profile name is gold 😅
@scrappydoo7887 thanks! 😁
Its first time for me. Was fun seeing and recognising all the comedian/actors
I am a retired Primary School teacher, teaching mainly 6 to 7 year old children. A veteran of many, many Nativity plays, I think I could write my own version.
One Christmas, 'Joseph' vomited all over 'baby Jesus.' The 'Angel Gabriel' and 'Mary' looked on in disgust and started inching away from scene and came close to falling off the stage.
We stopped the performance, cleaned up, and started again...minus Joseph.
OMG I LOVED this! I tried for years to get a copy of it to rewatch and managed to about five years ago. We have watched it every year at Christmas since 😂😂
I can definitely see why! :)
It's ok, you're saying iguana the right way! 😂
It's just Zebra you get wrong. 😂😂😂
😂
Something similar, but a bit darker, and from 1979, is 'Blue Remembered Hills', by Dennis Potter. Set in rural England, during WW2, it has 7 well known British actors (5 male, 2 female), playing the parts of children.
Thank you for the suggestion!
I was thinking of the same thing, it does get somewhat heavy though and I’ve never seen you watch anything similar. But, again, they’re only acting. Brilliantly.
@@reactingtomyroots And here's another one, for ya, from the BBC, 'Smith & Jones- Homemade Xmas Video', 'Tis very funny :o)
The parents coming to collect their children, but the same actors playing their parents was so funny
The teacher being played by the same actress as Mary was a subtle touch, she'd chosen her own daughter (who was in her class) to play the part.
i saw that you were reacting to this and got so so excited, its not Christmas if this isn't watched in my family at least 6 times
I see some very famous uk actors there
Brit here. Watched this many times, love it. Great script and acting, lots of well known ones
Hello. This was great!!! I played the star & the next year I played a Scottish girl. It brought back so many memories. Barley Lane Infants School. Essex 🥳🥳 This coming from a now 61 year old. Thank you. Jane in New Zealand 🇬🇧 🇳🇿
Way back in 1961 I was meant to be Mary in our school Nativity play (a rite of passage in the UK). Just before it was going to be shown I broke my arm and they relegated me to the back row as a non speaking angel. I never forgot. All of the actors and actresses are famous in the UK and have all been in many great shows on TV.
I’ve never heard of it.
I didn't realise how old this film was. 😂
44:00 "...an 'ave got a veruka so I've gotta wear this on mi foot" he has a veruka... you also missed the great joke, 38-40 being the size of granny's cardigan...
Joseph was just a car painter!😂
Flint Street was made in 1999. The "children" are seven and eight year olds. How time flies.
The story is based on real events, collected over ten years from members of Tim Firth's (writer) family and friends who were teachers. Flint Street Primary School is modelled on Stockton Heath Primary School, where Firth attended and his mother taught. All the actresses are wearing one piece swimsuits three sizes too small. To give them a more childlike, flattened look.
You won't recognise the cast, but they are all very well known tv stars, obviously having a blast.
There are still many school buildings here in the UK that were built back in the 1900-1930`s, that look just like this, in and out. My daughter went to one and now my granddaughter goes to the same one. They have added classrooms and a new dining hall/assembley hall. The teachers are much nicer these days and are very aware of the childrens mental health etc., ....The actors in this are very well known in the UK.
And the windows are usually high up to stop the kids from being distracted by anything outside.
Nativity plays are a common sort of school thing here in the UK, at least they were when I was at school, & in my children's days at school.
Children at the school play the parts of people in the Christmas story, sometimes with carols included. Parents come to watch in the school hall or theatre space. There is a bit of rivalry to play the lead parts etc.
The furniture is a tad cheeky. In schools it's kid sized, including the bogs. I'll lay odds you can just rent an oversize lavvy from a props agency though.
We usually say Igwana, too in the UK.
Yes, the “child” couldn’t pronounce it properly.I thought they may have twigged that rather than thinking it was pronounced differently here.
@@susanpearson-creativefibro Or you might have twigged that it's a Northern pronunciation.
@@markharvey1630 I'm from the North West and everyone here says ig-wa-na not ig-u-wana
I’ve never seen this before but it must have been made over 20 years ago because a lot of these actors have had very good careers in acting.
Parents messed up the the kids. Kids still need their parents approval & attention. So sad but so real. Watch it again with closer attention. Bear in mind that this was made in the UK so do not expect happy endings. The dad at the end was separated from his wife who was sitting in the audience with another man. This is not supposed to be a feel good production - but maybe a teaching moment? Seasons greetings to one & all.
I've not been awake long, it's time for a cuppa. Gonna sit with the cat and enjoy this nice 1 hour long video. Wishing you all the best 😊
I'm from the UK and can't believe I've never seen this. Thanks so much for sharing. It's brilliant!! :)
One of my most favourite Christmas movies ❤
As a Scot, I think I just realised why I'm so fascinated by your channel (and a few similar ones). It comes down to something the great bard (Rabbie Burns) wrote in To A Louse:
"O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us / To see oursels as ithers see us!"
In a way, your channel is that gift, enabling us Brits (and Scots) to see ourselves from another perspective.
As a fellow Scottish I've watched a few Americans travel around where I now live (Edinburgh) and all those things I don't even notice anymore, inc the castle, seen through fresh eyes makes u really appreciate what u have here. Same when they taste test food n stuff. Tho I lived in US for a few yrs and can attest to how bad the food quality and taste is.
That's a great way of putting it! Thanks for sharing that ❤️ And thank you for being part of the fam. :)
All i can remember about this is the "MORE MYRRH" line from Neil Morrissey.
Thanks for reminding me about this superb bit of British comedy!
We say Iguana the same. They're kids remember 😅
A lot of people in the UK say ig-u-ana like the kids did here.
At last, sanity prevails. Have been seeing these comments and thinking, no we don't! The same way we say JagUar and not JagWar. @@carolineskipper6976
Teachers hear a LOT. I could tell you stories!😂
I've never watched this before now....brilliantly acted....very different from anything I've ever seen. Theatre at its best 😊
I played Joseph one year and one of the three kings the next and was a part of the musicals every year lol
Even had a few solo's 😅
In Britain we pronounce Iguana the same as you, his name Micheal Owen was a former football player.
Certainly a very well known cast
Oh wow the evil little boy is Gail's new husband in Coronation Street.
Never done in my glasgow school
Every one of these characters is a well known UK TV and film actor.
Oh, grandparents generally get a far more relaxed Christmas than you parents enjoy. Our kids now think we're incapable of carving the goose or of walking off excess eating with brisk forest jaunts. Our grandsons assume we cant't understand computer games and certainly would die if we even attempted Boxing Day family rugger in the paddock. We just get to eat, be served hand and foot, and spoil the smallest ankle-biters after they come home with bloody knees and bruised egos!! 😅
Oh yes, and we get to claim the armchair by the fire where we get quietly tipsy and get taxied to and from, whichever daughter gets to be host this year, by the son in law. Rince and repeat on Boxing day with the other daughter.
Fantastic cast some of the best in the UK. The transition from 7 year old child to the "parent" was clever and a tad unsettling. Even at 7 years old, the children show signs of peer and social pressure. It's such a fabulous watch.
Happy New Year 🔔🔔🔔
It really was! Took us a minute to even realize they were the same actors. 😅
Glad you enjoyed it 😀 a lot of the actors in this are pretty famous names in the UK, mostly from dramas,soaps or comedies.
In scotland the primary 1s play the nativity characters with older kids helping song song from thw front few rows. Our primary 1s and between 4 and 5 years old.
I don't know how I missed this. Maybe it wasn't broadcast in Scotland. But it was hilarious. I'll watch it again to hear the dialogue missed when I was helpless with laughter. Thanks for showing it.
Yeah I’ve never seen it before either. I live in Scotland too. Looks like we missed a belter.
Funnily enough the guys that did Peter Pan Goes Wrong did a play similar to this called Groan Ups, sadly never recorded but there is a clip from a royal variety performance or similar on TH-cam
I seen this she I was 5 and laughed about a certain 2 scenes of the superglue hair and the I dares yahh. Until I was 25 year old but me and my brother didn’t know what it was called. Until at 25 I managed to figure it out and found a dvd of it on eBay lmao
I can't say I've ever seen this before It couldn't have been aired frequently but judging by the youthful looks of the cast I would guess this was made in the late 90's and I was probably too young to have appreciated this when it first came out.
I'd forgotten this film - absolutely brilliant with some great actors in it. In case you didn't know Michael Owen was a football player. They were playing the parents at the end.
At the end, the children's characters eventually evolve into mirror images of their parents when the actors all appear as their parents (the play's audience) at the post-show gathering.
The teacher (Lynn Hunter) is never seen.
Kids start school at 5 in the UK, so probably that age.
We watch this every Christmas Eve. Still as funny as when I first saw it. My parents were on the PTA of my school and have confirmed that it was little bit like the ending.
*Good Morning my favourite TH-camrs!* 😁
Wait....over an HOUR? You're spoiling us!
Primary School -
Reception class age 4+
Year 1 age 5+
Year 2 age 6+
Year 3 age 7+
Year 4 age 8+
When I went to school you had Infants School aged 4-8 (now called Primary) then Middle School from aged 8-12, then onto Secondary School aged 12-16. But because Primary School is made up of Key Stages 1-2, and Secondary School is made up of Key Stages 3-4, in many areas Middle Schools were gotten rid of, so kids weren't changing schools in the middle of their Key stages 1-2.
A few still remain here and there, mostly because the building itself is still adequate, and because a lot of Primary Schools are too small to house all children up to age 11, but for the most part, and what will eventually happen, is no Middle Schools will remain at all. All Primary Schools will eventually be knocked down and built bigger, or greatly extended, to make room for children in their "middle school" ages range.
So, the Kids in this Primary School production, filmed in 1999, would be based on Primary Schools and Middle Schools still both existing as separate things. Meaning the Fleet Street Primary "kids" are around 7-8 and not any older than that, whereas the majority of Primary Schools today go up to age 11.
We say Iguana the same as you. These are kids. 😂
Don't your kids do a Nativity every year at school too? In the background did you hear (what was supposed to be) children playing recorders? I don't know if kids learn to play them over there? Similar to the Irish tin pipe Sofia got. I still have my recorder and can play all of those Christmas carols from memory, and can sing them all too. Kids here always do a Nativity every year, and yes, every year I longed to be Mary but never got chosen. I was angel Gabriel once though, but usually a shephard with a checkered tea towel on my head! Or playing the recorder. (The recorder was Henry VIII's favourite instrument btw, fun fact 😊)
Lots of love to you 3! 😘😘😘 xxxxx
haha thanks for explaining Tami! Not usually a nativity anymore--those are reserved for church plays. I think the elementary schools here just tend to do a more secular Christmas/Winter themed performance.
And yes, the kids here do "learn" recorder but I don't think it's very in-depth. 😅
Hes coming in a virgin 747 😅
The boy in the donkey's head who wet himself was wearing a plastic bag on his foot because he had a verruca and it was a bizarre way of preventing him from passing it onto others.
this is a WONDERFUL blast from the past hahaha thank you! This takes me back manyyy years. I also love how you guys totally GET our humour. Well done!
Also, they're supposed to be like 5 years old. And as a teacher... we hear EVERYTHING.
ok third take... now i've finished! The dad at the end was not staying at home, he wasn't allowed to go in and see his son which is why he had to pass a message. So many other small cultural references throughout which were very much of the day. The whole thing is veryyyy nostalgic british primary school nativity, but as times have moved on, none of this would be replicated well today. I was like 11 when this came out. I'm so glad to have seen this again, thanks!
this is actually a pretty stellar cast. well done to them all. and aye :D cheers for reacting to it, thoroughly enjoyed it. you are both now really starting to get where we come from. :D nice one (Y)
This was made for TV. A lot of the references are a bit outdated but it's still my must-see at Christmas.
the doll is a take on the cabbage patch dolls