Review: Mega Church Xmas Play
📍 The Libra Theatre Cafe (Camden Fringe)
🗓️ 26th August 2026
🎟️ PR Invite
Written by Nicola Ryan, Mega Church Xmas Play is described as a “surreal, absurd, irreverent farce”, so I was very intrigued to see what the show had in store. Unfortunately, I left feeling more confused than when I went in.
The show follows a group of devoted Mega Church followers known as “Skylife”, who are preparing for their annual Xmas play. GOD wants it to be the biggest and best in the world, which is a task Senior Pastor Cole Crampon wants nothing more than to deliver. But with chaos surrounding the lead roles, will everything go according to plan? The concept is definitely a unique one. The whole thing was a bit bizarre, which isn’t a criticism – absolutely lean into the weirdness, and that’s exactly what this team did. Where it struggled, however, was the execution.
As Christmas music plays out before the play begins, cast members are already welcoming guests to the “church” and offering “communion” before heading backstage. As the play begins, they burst onto the stage with incredible energy and set the scene well, casting the audience as the congregation and getting us up on our feet dancing as they sing. This kicked the show off well, but unfortunately, that momentum wasn’t maintained.
There were several moments during the performance where the cast brought the audience into the story through singing and dancing, which was a really great way of engaging the audience while also keeping the sense of “congregation” throughout. The songs also helped to break up the piece well, but I didn’t feel like they always made sense in the context of the story. It all seemed quite random and, while fun, didn’t quite support the story sufficiently. There’s definitely potential to use these moments even more effectively to help move the story forward.
The script itself would benefit from further tightening, and the flow of the show felt quite stop-start throughout. Scene changes seemed quite abrupt at times, particularly with the use of blackouts, and some scenes were so short they didn’t have time to fully sink in before the next scene came along. The show doesn’t quite build up enough momentum in its current form, and I think a smoother flow between the scenes would help the story come together more effectively.
The show is a comedy and there were a lot of funny moments within the play, but I felt the comedy could be developed further – I don’t feel like a lot of the comedy landed. I’d like to see the script lean more into the comedic elements of the piece, particularly because the bizarre premise gives it plenty of room to have fun with.
While I appreciate sixty minutes is a short amount of time to fully tell a story like this, it felt like it was trying to do too many things at once, with no storyline fully getting its time to shine and very little time to get your head around the different characters. The characters themselves could also benefit from more depth, as many of them currently feel quite one-dimensional. The show does a good job in showing the competitive side of the entertainment industry, with plenty of arguments and judgement between characters all vying for the same role.
That said, there’s no doubting the energy and enthusiasm from the cast and crew, who put their all into the performance. The theatre is rather small and they use the space well, at times walking up and down through the audience. A technical issue with the lighting at one point was handled well by the cast, who took it in good spirits and replayed the scene after first doing it in complete darkness.
The play is incredibly new and is still finding its feet with a very limited budget, so there’s plenty of time and room for it to grow and become a stronger piece. With some further tightening of the script, a smoother flow between scenes, more character depth and more focus on the comedy, I think there’s plenty here that could be built upon.
A fun show with an absolutely bizarre storyline and plenty of energy, but overall, it needs some tightening and adjustments to become a stronger piece.
Mega Church Xmas Play runs at The Libra Theatre Cafe until 30 August 2026 at 8pm.
