Christmas play FAQs for primary schools
About the play
What is a Play-in-a-Box®?
It is a complete primary school play in a single package: the script, a staging guide and animated storybook backdrops you project from the equipment your hall already has. It is a rhyming play in spoken verse, not a musical, so there are no songs for the children to learn or for you to license, and rhyme is easier for children to memorise than prose. There is no scenery to build and a role for every child.
What is in the box?
Every Play-in-a-Box® is ready to open and go, with no specialist theatre knowledge and no expensive materials. The complete package gives you:
- The complete rhyming-verse script, formatted for rehearsal and performance
- Ready-made digital backdrops: fifteen scenes in a warm storybook style, as PowerPoint shows in both widescreen and standard shapes, in still and animated versions, that you tap through like a slideshow
- Projection and Setup Guidance for running the backdrops in your hall
- A Production Bible with scene-by-scene staging, sound, lighting, props, costumes and inclusive casting guidance
- A Curriculum Impact Brief mapping the production to curriculum priorities, with cross-curricular lesson plans
- Editable poster and programme templates, ready for your dates and details
- Ready-to-post social media share graphics for Instagram and Facebook
What year groups is A Rhyming Christmas Carol for?
It is written for KS2, roughly Years 3 to 6, ages 7 to 11. The parts scale so it suits a single class or a whole key stage, and you adjust the cast to fit the children you have.
Is this an alternative to the nativity for KS2?
Yes. A Rhyming Christmas Carol is the KS2 answer to the nativity: a 45-minute rhyming version of Dickens for Years 3 to 6, with a part for every child. It gives older primary classes a Christmas performance that suits their age, whether as an end-of-term show for parents or a rhyming text to study in class, so Years 3 to 6 are not performing something designed for the youngest children.
How long is the play?
The play runs about 45 minutes. That makes it a comfortable length for an end-of-term performance to parents, and you can also study it in class over the term as a rhyming text in its own right.
What about classroom activities?
The play works in the classroom as well as on the stage. The script is a rhyming text children can read, perform and study, and our free Curriculum Impact Brief, in a UK edition and a US edition, sets out ready-made, cross-curricular lesson plans in English, history, PSHE, art and more, so the production feeds straight into your lessons rather than sitting apart from them.
Does A Rhyming Christmas Carol support oracy and speaking and listening skills?
Yes. The play is written in spoken verse, so it works as an oracy delivery mechanism: every child who speaks, listens or performs is developing spoken language. In England, the new primary oracy framework confirmed in November 2025 places spoken language alongside reading and writing, and in the United States this is the speaking and listening strand of the Common Core standards. A Rhyming Christmas Carol maps to both, and our free Curriculum Impact Brief, in a UK edition and a US edition, sets out that mapping in full, so you can show how the production delivers these skills rather than sitting apart from your teaching.
How does the play support Ofsted and the enrichment entitlement?
A well-run production gives you natural, curriculum-embedded evidence rather than an add-on. Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted reports against six evaluation areas on a five-point scale, and a play like this supports several of them: a part for every child (inclusion), oracy and cross-curricular work (curriculum and teaching), the confidence and collaboration of a performance (personal development and well-being) and the commitment a shared goal builds (attendance and behaviour). It also helps meet the arts and culture strand of the Core Enrichment Entitlement, which inspectors now consider at routine inspections. In the United States a production supports your school improvement plan and the well-rounded education that ESSA sets out, which explicitly includes the arts. Our free Curriculum Impact Brief maps all of this for your leadership team, in a UK edition and a US edition.
The Founding Pilot Programme and cost
What is the Founding Pilot, and what do you ask in return?
The Founding Pilot is our launch programme for autumn term 2026. We are giving a small number of UK primary schools the complete Play-in-a-Box package for A Rhyming Christmas Carol free of charge, in return for a little help as we launch: a few informal photos of the backdrops in your hall or your performance, and a short testimonial afterwards that you approve before we use it. There is no hall visit, no rehearsal to observe and no feedback form. Your free performance licence runs to 31 December 2026, so it is for a Christmas 2026 production, and you keep all the files afterwards.
Is it really free?
Yes, genuinely free for Founding Pilot schools, with no card details and no catch. You receive the complete package, worth £395, and in return we ask only for a few photos and a short testimonial after your autumn 2026 performance, plus you keep the files for good and get a permanent 50% discount on any future Round Pebble title. After the pilot, the play is sold in three editions from £95, and schools performing again from 2027 renew the performance licence at £95 for each year they actually perform, and nothing in a year they do not.
How are the pilot programme files delivered?
Everything is digital, and a download link arrives by email, so nothing is posted. When you accept the pilot agreement we send the full package straight away: the script, the staging and projection guides, the Curriculum Impact Brief, your Founding Pilot certificate and the full set of fifteen static backdrops in both screen shapes. The animated backdrop loops follow during the autumn term, in time for rehearsals. You keep all the files afterwards.
Can I join the pilot and perform in 2027 instead?
The Founding Pilot is for a Christmas 2026 production. The free performance licence runs to 31 December 2026, and the pilot is how we gather the photos and feedback that launch the play this year, so it is not a way to hold a free place for 2027. If 2026 is too soon for your school, you are very welcome to stage A Rhyming Christmas Carol in 2027 instead: you would buy the package in the usual way, from £95, and you keep all the files for good. Get in touch and we will help you find the right route.
Staging, cast and equipment
What equipment do we need to run the backdrops?
You need three things, and they are the same kit most school halls already use for assemblies: a projector, a plain light wall or screen to project onto and a laptop. The backdrops come as ready-made shows you tap through like a slideshow in PowerPoint, or you can play the files in a free player like VLC. They are supplied in both widescreen 16:9 and squarer 4:3 shapes, so they fit whatever projector you have, with no special software and no technical expertise needed.
Will the file size be too large for an old laptop?
No. The backdrops come as ready-made shows, and the still shows are lightweight and run on any computer, including older laptops. The animated shows are larger video files and need a computer that can play video smoothly, so if an older laptop struggles with the animation you simply use the still show, which uses the same artwork and looks just as good. For the smoothest playback, copy the files onto the laptop before the performance rather than running them from a USB stick.
Can we back-project the backdrops?
Yes. The backdrops work with both front projection and back projection. Most schools front-project, with the projector in front of the stage shining onto the back wall, which needs no special setup. If your stage has room behind it, back projection removes the actors' shadows entirely, and the same files work either way.
Can I try a sample backdrop in my hall?
Yes. There is a free sample backdrop you can download and project in your own hall, so you can see exactly how the artwork looks on your screen and in your lighting before you decide. It opens in a new tab. To save it on a computer, right-click the image and choose "Save image as". On a phone or tablet, press and hold the image, then choose "Download image" or "Save to Photos".
You can also find it with our other free downloads on the A Rhyming Christmas Carol page.
Can I see a sample script?
Yes. You can download a free sample from the script to read before you decide. It is the opening of the play, so you can hear how the rhyming dialogue sounds and see how it reads on the page for the children. You can also find it with our other free downloads on the A Rhyming Christmas Carol page.
Do we need to build any scenery?
No. There is no scenery to build or store. The set is the projected backdrop, which changes with each scene at the tap of a key, so you save the time, cost and storage of painting and building flats. All you need is a plain wall or screen to project onto.
How many children can take part, and can we make the cast bigger or smaller?
The play scales from a single class to a whole year group, and you can make the cast bigger or smaller to fit the children you have. Speaking parts can be shared out or combined, and there are non-speaking and backstage roles too, so every child has a part whether they want the spotlight or a quieter job. A Production Bible, our full staging guide, shows you how to flex the cast.
How much work is it to put on, and do I need drama experience?
Less than a traditional production, and no drama experience is needed. There is no scenery to build or store, because the set is the projected backdrop that changes at the tap of a key, which saves the materials, cost and many hours a painted set would take. The backdrops arrive as ready-made shows you simply project, the rhyming lines are easier for children to learn than prose, and the staging guide walks you through casting, the few props you need and running the show on the day. It is designed for a busy class teacher, not a theatre director.
What about music?
It is a rhyming play in spoken verse, not a musical, so there are no songs to learn and nothing extra to license to stage it. You can add a familiar carol or your own music very easily if you want to: the script includes the traditional carol I Saw Three Ships to sing or play live with no licence, and you are free to add public-domain carols or your own pupil-composed music. If you add commercial songs or recordings, you license those the usual way through your school's existing music licences.
Performing, tickets and licensing
Can we perform to parents, and how does the licensing work?
Yes, performing to parents and families is exactly what a Play-in-a-Box® is for. Performing the play to an audience needs a performance licence, and that licence is included free in the first year, covering unlimited performances that year at your school for your school community: pupils, staff, parents, families, governors and invited local guests. After the first year the script licence renews at £95 a year, only in the years you choose to perform, and the backdrops and materials are yours to keep for good either way.
Can we sell tickets?
In the UK: Yes, you can charge for tickets to your school audience. The licence sets a standard school admission price, which is up to £8 per adult ticket and £4 per child, with combined ticket takings kept under £2,000 across all performances, in line with typical primary school production practice. It is meant for your school community rather than ticketed public performances marketed to the general public. If you are fundraising and giving all the ticket money to a registered charity, you can ask us about an admission-price waiver.
In the US: Yes, you can charge for tickets to your school audience. The license sets a standard admission price in local currency, roughly $10 per adult and $5 per child, with combined ticket takings kept under about $2,500 across all performances, in line with typical US elementary school admission prices. It is meant for your school community rather than ticketed public performances marketed to the general public, so get in touch if you expect a larger event. If you are fundraising and giving all the ticket money to a registered nonprofit, you can ask us about an admission-price waiver.
Elsewhere: the same principle applies. You can charge modest admission to your school audience at your local equivalent of these prices, and we are always happy to hear from schools outside the UK and US, so please get in touch and we will help.
Safeguarding and who we are
What about safeguarding and DBS?
We take safeguarding seriously and have a written safeguarding policy you can read on our website. Both founders hold current DBS certificates, and we are never alone or unsupervised with children, since a class teacher is always present, which keeps our work outside regulated activity. You can read the full policy on our safeguarding page.
Can we share images of the production on social media?
Yes. The production is yours, so you are welcome to share photos and clips on your school's social media, following your school's usual rules on photographing children and parental consent. We would just ask that you do not share the backdrop files themselves, as those are licensed to your school. If you are a 2026 Founding Pilot, any photos you send us for our own marketing are covered by our Media Consent and Release Form, composed to show the backdrops and staging rather than to identify individual children, and you approve anything before we use it.
Can we film or livestream the performance?
You can record the performance for parents to keep for private, family use, which many schools do. What the licence does not allow is posting the full performance publicly or livestreaming it to a general audience, since that reaches beyond your school community. Sharing a few photos or short clips of your production on your school's own channels is fine, following your usual rules on filming children.
Who is behind Round Pebble?
Round Pebble is Natalie and Jeff, a husband and wife team based in Devon. Natalie is an ex-BBC designer who creates the imagery and staging guides, and Jeff is an ex-teacher who writes the rhyming dialogue. We work with Heidi Pyburn, LAMDA coach and examiner and Director of Devon Young People's Theatre, to bring the plays to schools. You can read more about us on our About page.
Getting started
How do we take part?
Head to the A Rhyming Christmas Carol page to see the play, then get in touch through our contact form to register your interest in a Founding Pilot place or to ask us anything. Tell us a little about your school and we will reply personally with the next steps.