A Christmas Carol Review

Jane McGowan says bah humbug to the festive blues with the Guildford Shakespeare Company’s production of A Christmas Carol.

This year has certainly seen some new words enter our vocabulary – Covid sadly being one and another more positive one, Zoom.

So after months of interacting, quizzing and working on Zoom, it now makes absolute sense to watch an entire theatre production on the video conferencing app.

Presented by Guildford Shakespeare Company in conjunction with the Jermyn Street Theatre, this timeless tale of a man taught the error of his ways after encountering a series of spirits has become a Christmas staple in theatreland and I had presumed that I would be watching a streamed live performance – as in the NT Live shows and some of the other ‘Show Must Go On’ theatre that has been streaming during lockdown.

However, Matt Pinches and his clever team have gone one step further and produced the show entirely online with each character in their own ‘bubble’.

As with most Zoom conference calls we were asked to mute and told how best to set our screens – “Can they see us?” asked my daughter just as Paula James as Mrs Fezziwig began waving and talking about various audience members’ Christmas jumpers. 

We were then into the production proper with the characters interacting from whatever location they happened to be with the help of various green screens and backdrops.

Although as a member of the audience, it took a few moments to adapt, the scene transitions and interaction between characters were seamless while the multi-role playing cast coped admirably with what must be a very unusual performance sphere.

Although the cast boasts two of English stage and screen’s finest – Brian Blessed and Penelope Keith as the Ghosts of Christmas Present and Past respectively – there were notable performances from Robin Morrissey as Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchitt, Mr Fezziwig, Topper and Old Joe as well as the aforementioned Paula James as a raft of female characters including Mrs Cratchitt and Clara.

Jim Findlay was a slightly more benign Ebenezer Scrooge than some I have seen, but in these testing times, I am not sure anyone has the appetite for anything truly villainous.

And it was a joy to appreciate with Mr Scrooge the realisation that having people around to care for (and to be cared for) is the only thing we really need at Christmas – which came sadly just before the Tier 4 announcement.

Adapted by Naylah Ahmed, the plot rolls along at a great pace and Natasha Rickman’s direction draws out some lovely moments and lively performances from the cast. 

However, although there were a couple of technical glitches (people must remember to keep themselves on mute) the production had enough pathos, redemption and hope to cheer even the most miserable of Christmases. 

The show runs until December 30. Visit: guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk