The Wintershall Nativity Play

Wednesday 13-Sunday 17 December 2017

 “Whatever your faith, or lack of it, it's a moving narrative.”

★★★★ - The Guardian

Experience the Christmas story in a new way at The Wintershall Nativity Play, brought to you by the Wintershall Players, producers of famous The Passion of Jesus which is now performed to an audience of over 20,000 people each Easter in Trafalgar Square.

The Wintershall Players first performed The Nativity in 1989, with a cast headed by Peter and Ann Hutley and their family on the family's beautiful farm, the Wintershall Estate, an area of extraordinary natural beauty which sits within the rolling landscape of the Surrey Hills, less than an hour from London. They pushed the cows out of the barn for a night and a handful of people came to see the makeshift production. One of the wise men found himself wearing Ann's fur hat and their pregnant daughter-in-law sat on a bale of hay with a torch in her mouth to light the action.

Now Holly Barn is a licensed theatre and thousands of visitors come to see the 90-minute Nativity every year. It featured on the BBC's Songs of Praise in 1996 and again in 2004. In 2013, the Nativity was performed in the BBC's Piazza in London to critical acclaim.

Dramatic and intimate, the story begins in the open air with the shepherds. The audience then take their seats in the atmospheric barn, where the story unfolds of how Jesus changed the world.   The play is performed by a cast of 50 in beautiful biblical costumes, with songs and music, assisted by a full complement of sheep, donkeys, horses and a sheepdog.  It is truly the perfect opportunity to enjoy a show with friends and family and enrich the experience of Christmas.

This year, for the first time, there will be three performances on Saturday 16th December to meet public demand. Mince pies and hot drinks will be available before the show. 

The Wintershall Nativity Play will be performed from the 13th to the 17th of December 2017 both inside and outside of Holly Barn at Wintershall, Bramley near Guildford.  To book the Nativity please call 01793 418299 or book online at www.wintershall-estate.com. Performance times are 13-15 December 4:30 pm & 7 pm, 16 December 11 am, 2:30 pm & 5:30 pm, 17 December 2:30 pm & 5:30 pm. Performances are 90 minutes long and there is free parking. 

Parental guidance advised for under 5s. Book early to secure your preferred date and time.

For further information / press images please contact Katherine Camps Kilgour at Bright Media on 01621 784777 or email katherine@brightmediauk.com

Notes To Editors

The Wintershall plays are performed to over 40,000 people a year. 

The extraordinary story of these productions has its humble beginnings in Medjugorje, Bosnia, visited by Ann Hutley and her daughter Charlotte in the mid-1980s. The visit changed their lives. Peter joined Ann on a visit in 1989. “I had the deep feeling of the presence of God,” he says. When they returned to Wintershall they were committed to spreading the Christian message.

Born into a poor family in 1926, Peter left school at 15 to become a messenger boy for an estate agent. He joined the army as a teenager in 1944 and left as a Captain four years later. He became a successful property developer and in 1962 Peter and Ann bought the 1,000-acre Wintershall estate and their four children grew up in the beautiful 13th century home.

In 1989, the family tried to buy the land behind the house with an 18th century barn on it. Peter told his children that if they secured the barn they would use it for God. The auction went their way and a few weeks later the Hutley clan, with Ann as the engine, put on their first Nativity. 

 “It wasn't very good,” remembers Peter. But the visitors were delighted and there was an expectation it would be repeated. So it was.

The early days of the Nativity were filled with natural drama, of finding friends willing to sacrifice a busy Christmas weekend with a long walk up a wet and windy hill for rehearsals,” recalls Ann Hutley.   Soon after, Peter gave Ann a choice between having a new kitchen, or getting better lighting for the barn. "I chose the kitchen, but Peter said he'd already decided we were having the lighting!" she says.

Peter wanted to stage a Passion play. It took him two years to write and in 1993, the first variation was staged on the tennis court.  After the crucifixion the audience, thinking it was over, would get in their cars to leave and Ann would run after them to explain the best was still to come.

In 1998, the Hutleys won the Templeton Award for "an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension.”

In 2004, Peter received an MBE for services to the community and Ann was made a Dame of St Gregory. In 2013, Peter was awarded an OBE for his work in promoting Christian understanding and his charity work. His fundraising for Heart & Stroke Trust Endeavour has led to concerts being held at the estate, featuring Eric Clapton, Queen and Ringo Star (and all opened with prayer).  

In 2010, Wintershall brought the Passion play to Trafalgar Square as a gift to the people of London. Today there are two performances on Good Friday every year in the square and 20,000 people attend. On Easter Saturday, there are two further performances in Guildford town centre.

In 2011, her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded the Wintershall cast, artistic director and support team the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.

In 2014, their daughter, Charlotte de Klee, took over as producer. The plays have been seen by over a quarter of a million people and the concept has travelled to all corners of the world, from Australian parks to Scottish castles and American prisons.