Africa-Press – Uganda. Time check, 7:40pm. The audience to the first show of the evening moves out to give way to a new audience that has been waiting for hours in tents outside. By 8:15pm, all the 1,300 people have settled in their seats.
The Watoto Church auditorium is quite classily and fittingly decorated for the Christmas cantata.
The ultra-high ceiling (as high as three floors) is decorated with hanging Christmas trees, complete with twinkling lights.
The massive multi-layered theatre stage depicts ancient Middle Eastern architecture, the massive wall painting of a sea and cloudy sky makes the nativity scene come alive.
The high winding stairs paint a picture of a grand palace, or heaven for that matter. All this is accentuated by a bevy of high tech stage lighting and smoke machines. You know you are here for a big show as soon as you sit down.
There is already so much to see even before the show starts. Which might explain why the people are chattering so excitedly. The anticipation is palpable. As it is approaching 8:20pm, the lights slowly dim to complete darkness. The chattering dies down. The show starts now.
The announcer comes on and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas. Then leads the audience in singing the popular Christmas carol, Silent Night. Christ the saviour is born. As the song is ongoing, the choir is taking its place on the stage, populating the two sets of winding stairs.
The singing ends with a loud joyful shout from the excited audience.
By 8:30pm, a dedication prayer is offered. “It’s all about you. Speak to our hearts,” the short prayer goes. All lights out. Darkness, save for the bright phone screens.
Promptly, a sweet soprano starts singing another popular Christmas Carol, Hack the Herald Angels Sing. Glory to the newborn King. Lights. Drums. Lights. Drums. Screams. Darkness. Drama. Dancers.
A throbbing African beat takes over the song. Powerful drums carry this dance. This song is meant to get you pumped for the show. It’s a grabbing intro to a great story. The crowd is videoing everything. Couldn’t be more energetic.
It’s an audiovisual orchestra. As the carol is ongoing, the wall-to-wall screen in front showcases the extravagance of God’s creation. The wildness of the sea. The profundity of scripture. The grace of dance. The beauty of a blooming flower. All glory to the One behind all this wonder-Unfailing God.
The main vocalists are dressed in what Jesus’s disciples should have worn—long heavy tunics in earthy colours or up-to-down strips. The dancers and the choir are in shiny, regal outfits fit for a grand palace.
Unfailing God
This year’s cantata is titled Unfailing God. So the dramatisation of the birth of Jesus is told from that perspective.
Mary meets her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth is barren. She’s been praying for a child in vain. People gossip about her. They deride her. Powerful song. Incredible voice from the Elizabeth character. God finally answers her husband, Zachariah’s prayer for a child. Elizabeth will have a child. Unfailing God.
Then angel Gabriel appears to Mary. She is told she will conceive by the Holy Spirit and have a child whom she’s instructed to name Jesus. “Let it be unto me as you have said,” she responds.
The choir comes on stage with lanterns. A visually pleasing sight. Beautiful scene of a canoe bearing Mary, on her way to meet her cousin Elizabeth, again. This time, she finds Elizabeth six months pregnant with John the Baptist.
They sing of how their souls magnify the Lord. The scene is accentuated by a dramatic pageantry of two dancers suspended on cords attached to the ceiling.
Probably communicating the freedom that comes from trusting in the Lord. Eye-popping performance. A loud cream from the crown as the scene winds down. Impressive.
After the song, Mary narrates her story of how an angel appeared to her and how the angel mentioned to Elizabeth about her miraculous pregnancy.
Elizabeth also narrates her story of the angel appearing to her husband. “All we have to do is stand still and trust God,” she says.
Enter Joseph
An angel appears to Joseph in a dream as he sleeps in his hammock, telling him that his fiancée is pregnant with the son of God. In a moment of comic relief, Joseph falls out of his hammock.
The crowd is in hysterics. Joseph goes to Mary with a changed heart. Because the angel has confirmed what Mary had told him.
A Roman soldier enters. Orders everyone to go home to their villages for a census.
So Joseph and heavily pregnant Mary head towards Bethlehem.
The baby is born. A bright star appears to the shepherds on the screen. Once the images die down, a spotlight on stage shows shepherds coming to the manger, to see baby Jesus. God’s word will never fail. All we do is trust Him.
At 9:20pm, the last song is sung. These performers are dressed to impress. Velvet jackets fit for the biggest stages on earth. Shiny gowns in gold and blue that are more than pleasing to the eye. Now the stage shines like heaven. The hanging Christmas trees are now shining brightly. The place is awash with light. A worthy end to a moving cantata.
This is not just a run-of-the-mill Christmas show at a local church. This is a well-planned, professionally performed cantata that would sellout if they were to charge entrance fees. There is a reason it is the most popular Christmas show by far. Watoto Church is really good at this. After all, they have been at it for 39 years.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the auditorium can only hold 1,300 people at a go, the crowds of people coming for this show would easily overwhelm Kampala City. Over the 10 shows that the Church has presented between December 18 and 23, more than 13,000 people have flocked to Watoto to start their celebrations in style.
To think that all these people rehearsed for months to put on this grand show all for free, it’s hard to imagine. It is a gesture worthy of Christmas. Just spectacular.
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