Reviewed by Tony Cummings

As the intro to this Christmas musical resource reminds us, the American-born comedy/evangelism duo are much loved by Cross Rhythms. Their Jurassic Church album in 1994 gained 10 squares, as did Acts Files in 1996. Their ability to create punchy, witty chunks of spiritual communication out of the cultural icons of the day (in the past they've ransacked Wayne s World, X Files, Men In Black and many others) have put Rodd Christensen and Marco Palmer up there with the Tribe as premier league Gospel communicators. Now, their alliance with Scripture Union Scotland has enabled them to deliver possibly their most ambitious project so far, a resource pack for all those wanting to forgo the stupefying predictability of carol services and nativity plays and produce a Christmas show for church hall, school, youth event or town hall which zings with good cheer, pulls no spiritual punches and doesn't have a sleigh bell in earshot. The book of Dashing Through The Show!. with one of those stunning Rodney Matthews covers which shows again why his breathtaking illustrations have a worldwide cult following, contains everything you could possibly need to turn budding thespians into Christmas communicators. There are the scripts for three one act plays, six musical numbers and a whole heap of performance tips, costume suggestions, helpful (and sometimes hilarious) anecdotes, details where you can obtain various props and costumes (I'm getting in my order for a Star Wars-style light sabre right away) and, best of all for Cross Rhythms readers, a CD containing six new Rodd And Marco songs, the backing tracks of the same and various (marvellous) sound effects. The pop culture targets so skilfully lampooned/paid-tribute-to this time include the Spice Girls (can't see what the guys will wear when they perform The Spice Guys !), Star Trek and, most effective of all, Fawlty Towers (there's even a tribute from John Cleese on the book s back cover!). Sadly, there isn't a real R&M classic ala God's World in the new tunes. Word Come Down could have made it to radio land. It's got a good vocal and a reasonable groove but needed stronger production. But that s the only quibble about a classy package which will extend further Rodd And Marco s growing reputation but, much more important, will once it gets turned into performances throughout the country, communicate to tens of thousands that Christmas is so much more than the spend-fest of today s banal consumerism.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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