Mr Herod's Christmas Pageant

Mr Herod’s Christmas Pageant by John O’Toole

John O’Toole’s new work Mr Herod’s Christmas Pageant directed by Jennifer Blocksidge presented a political spin on the traditional nativity story.

It was written and workshopped during O’Toole’s term as writer-in-residence at La Boite, made possible by a grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council. Whilst admitting there were flaws in the show, theatre reviewer Don Batchelor saw it as “a richly resonant piece of writing whose implications have been disturbing me since I saw the show … La Boite continues to serve us well by challenging our preconceptions, even quite sacred ones”.[i]

Writer: Christine Comans