Free family nativity play retelling the Christmas story inside Exeter Cathedral, with real alpacas and essential booking.
The Exeter Nativity is back at Exeter Cathedral on Sunday 13 December, a family retelling of the Christmas story staged inside the cathedral. It's an entertaining take on the nativity, and the one thing that always sticks in people's minds is the animals: there are real-life alpacas as part of the experience, which is a fair bit more than you'll find in your average church service.
The setting does a lot of the heavy lifting here. The cathedral's interior is used as part of the staging, and Simon Jenkins of The Guardian once described it as 'architecture as theatre' — the building itself becomes a character in the story rather than just the room it's played in. It's a family favourite that's built up a fair few visitor reviews over the years, so it's one of those things that's become a bit of a local tradition around here.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Exeter and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
It's a Sunday afternoon show, so it works well if you're bringing the whole family along. Doors open at 2:15pm, and the performance runs from 3pm to 4pm, which means you're in and out in an hour — easy enough to fit around a Sunday roast. Entry is free, but booking is essential, so you'll want to get your name down in advance rather than just turning up on the day. If you're planning to go, just keep that 3pm start in mind.
