ADAM Penford first directed Mark Gatiss’ ‘ghost story’ version of the Charles Dickens classic ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Nottingham Playhouse in 2021, where he is artistic director.
It next went – with great success – to the West End and now the Birmingham REP has commissioned an adaptation from him to be performed on arguably the most fitting stage for it in the UK, with its cavernous proscenium and huge raked auditorium.
Paul Wills’ set is extraordinary, comprising primarily of huge, dominating columns of old filing cabinets, the drawers of which house a Pandora’s box of miseries aka the records of past and current debts owing to the lenders – that is, Scrooge and Marley. There is plenty of fast-moving furniture being trucked on and off as the locations change, but those festering cabinets in one form or another are always omnipresent.
Picture by Ellie Kurttz. sI have seen many Christmas Carols over the years – some good, some bad but nothing quite like this one. Everything is there as Dickens wrote but much of this is like seeing it through the eyes of Tim Burton. It’s definitely for older children and upwards as it has you jumping out of your seat with its hard-core bangs, flashes and merging of two worlds, one real and the other a spectre-filled nightmare.
There are some very clever additions including starting the story with Marley still alive and a Narrator who brings a gasp of joy and amazement at the end of the tale – the reason for which I won’t spoil.
Picture by Ellie Kurttz. sMathew Cottle is an enchanting Ebenezer Scrooge, rich of voice and tone perfectly-pitched for his three Scrooges, Mr Nasty, Mr Troubled and Mr Reborn. Cottle doesn’t live his journey to redemption alone – he shares it with us. We don’t despise him – just feel sorry for the solitary old rascal.
The three spirits that visit Scrooge all break the traditional mould. We get a gentle elfin Ghost of Christmas Past from Grace-Hogg-Robinson, a bi-polar powerhouse from Mark Theodore as the Ghost of Christmas Present and an unnamed pitch-black lord-of-the-rings ghoul as The Ghost of Christmas Future. All three are captivating and compelling.
Oscar Batterham is spot on as Bob Cratchit – he doesn’t ask for our pity but gets it all the same but also makes us envious as head of a family that has got so little – yet has so much.
Lance West is delightful as Scrooge’s nephew Fred, generous and silly in equal doses.
Picture by Ellie Kurttz. sGeoffrey Beevers is our Narrator and pop-up purveyor of Dicken’s original words. He never gets in the way of the story but rather steers the boat gently down the stream
The lighting, sound, illusions, video, puppetry designers and operators all blend in perfect synergy to make this both the spookiest and most joyous show in town this Christmas. Not for the young or the faint-hearted, but for everyone else it’s unmissable magic.
Picture by Ellie Kurttz. sA flurry of real snowflakes coming down as I left the theatre was the icing on the Christmas cake. The only ‘bah humbug’ was me humming few bars of ‘God Rest You Merry Gentleman’ and I wasn’t alone.
A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story runs at the Birmingham REP runs until January 5. Click here for times, tickets and more information.
