Charles Dickens’
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Now playing at the King’s Head Theatre
As lavish a production as you’re ever likely to see shoehorned onto the Kings Head’s tiny stage, Phil Willmott’s musical adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is one of several current stage and screen versions in and around the capital this festive season.
This latest take on the old story is presented through the eyes of Dickens himself (the engaging Nigel Lister) who has just 90 minutes to persuade his disinterested publisher (and the characters in and around Paul Burgess’s versatile Victorian inn) that his new tale deserves a wider public.
From the outset, audience and actors co-habit within the same boisterous space, the aisles delineated by ‘cobblestones’, carol singers lustily celebrating the season of goodwill and various ‘authentic’ Dickensian characters coming and going about their everyday business before the evening proper begins in the on-stage pub.
The large cast – on occasion a bit too uncomfortably large for even director Joe Fredericks to effectively contain within the confines of this pocket-handkerchief performing space – brings to life a multiplicity of characters that range from Victorian waifs to grave robbers and merchants in scenes that variously invigorate or tug at the heartstrings. Singing an eclectic score with conviction and admirable clarity (Phil Willmott’s own lyrics are cleverly matched to popular carols and a variety of tunefully-classical sources), each player assumes a number of parts and, by and large, fills them convincingly. The small band is made up of peripatetic ensemble members tootling, bowing, plucking or banging as they move in and around the auditorium.
The main characters are all eminently watchable; Kilke Van Buren’s amiable Ghost of Christmas Past and Richard Delaney’s effervescent Christmas Present are effectively augmented by puppet apparitions, with Tiny Tim taking on the mute mantle of the spirit of things to come, whose own death is presaged in a movingly-staged candlelit vigil to a touching rendition of Silent Night.
At the heart of it all is, of course, Ebenezer Scrooge. Love him or hate him – and we do both during the course of this evening – he must always be believable as a character rather than a caricature.
Looking like a dyspeptic turkey all too aware of his imminent fate, Jonathan Battersby provides a multi-faceted portrayal of a man whose emotionally-stunted childhood has fashioned the adult he was to become: unapproachable, defensive, self-centred and yet, beneath it all, touchingly and imperfectly human. To see his eyes cloud over as he watches his life disintegrate in front of him is to share a well of unfathomable sorrow.
At the start of this enjoyable evening, Dickens expresses the sentiment that “London needs Christmas more than ever.” In these difficult times, we certainly do and this invigorating production succeeds in encouraging us all to re-consider our lives and evaluate what Christmas should mean to us and our fellow men. This gloriously-timeless story is as universally relevant today as it ever was.
Box Office: 0844 209 0326 Website: www.kingsheadtheatre.org
Performance Schedule – check press for holiday matinee and other details
Ticket Prices: £20 Premium Reserved, £18 adults, £15.50 children, £58 Family ticket (2 adults & 2 children)
Reviews by Clive Burton for Theatreworld Internet Magazine
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
British Theatre Guide Review of A Christmas Carol 2009
A Christmas Carol
By Phil Wilmott
MokitaGrit Productions
Kings Head Theatre
Review by Howard Loxton (2009)
Phil Wilmott's adaptation of Charles Dicken's novella sets it in a London pub. There is a raucous scene in progress on stage with someone pounding on the old Joanna almost drowning out the carol singers further back in the audience belting out the familiar tunes. Here, when the lights go down, Dickens himself arrives, giving some money to beggar children outside who, when wished 'a Merry Christmas', tell him that's OK for the rich but they don't have much chance. Inside the pub he finds an equal lack of Christmas spirit: 'It's a time for paying bills with money you haven't got.' One person tells him. He responds by promptly thinking up a story which, he bets his publisher, will convert them all to the idea of Christmas cheer.
Of course he converts them, and the theatre audience too (if any of them aren't already with him), for this is decidedly a feel-good show. His tale of the miserly old Ebenezer Scrooge who is taken back to look at how he lost his own sense of joy and generosity by the appearance of the ghost of his older partner Marley and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future is given a musical treatment that draws on familiar carols and popular musical hall and classical tunes.
With a cast of eighteen, most of whom also double as instrumentalists or puppeteers as well as actors and singers, Joe Fredericks' lively production packs the place with people as well as energy, especially in the joyful scenes at the home of Mr and Mrs Fezziwig (Andrew Williams and Judith Street) where Scrooge (Oliver Paterson, in youthful contrast to the watching Old Scrooge) makes the fateful choice that decides the path is life will take. Adam Stone makes a pleasant, ever-hopeful Bob Crachit with Heather Saunders as his missus. Jonathan Battersby makes a cantankerous Old Scrooge slowly seeing the light as he watches his own past and future on the trips organised by a female Christmas Past whom he sees as a tattered version of the Princess Cinderella of his childhood (Kilke van Buren), the mellifluous Welsh voiced Christmas Present (Richard Delaney) and Tiny Tm as Christmas Yet to Come (Finn Bennett at the performance I saw).
There is some clever puppetry, some sprightly dancing (choreography by Racky Plews) and the whole is stylishly dressed and mounted - though I don't think that even the reformed Ebenezer would go into the street or out to Christmas dinner in his night shirt. There are some scary moments that may frighten you as much as Scrooge but the tone is largely upbeat and while not lacking sentiments thankfully avoids sickly sentimentality.
A very popular show last year, this revival will put you in a splendidly Christmas mood, and the music sound so familiar that you almost feel you've had a singsong and certainly will have a warm glow, even without a glassful of mulled wine. I reckon Nigel Lister's ever present Mr Dickens certainly wins his bet if the audience has any say in deciding it.
At King's Head Theatre Tuesday - Sunday until 10th January, 2009
By Phil Wilmott
MokitaGrit Productions
Kings Head Theatre
Review by Howard Loxton (2009)
Phil Wilmott's adaptation of Charles Dicken's novella sets it in a London pub. There is a raucous scene in progress on stage with someone pounding on the old Joanna almost drowning out the carol singers further back in the audience belting out the familiar tunes. Here, when the lights go down, Dickens himself arrives, giving some money to beggar children outside who, when wished 'a Merry Christmas', tell him that's OK for the rich but they don't have much chance. Inside the pub he finds an equal lack of Christmas spirit: 'It's a time for paying bills with money you haven't got.' One person tells him. He responds by promptly thinking up a story which, he bets his publisher, will convert them all to the idea of Christmas cheer.
Of course he converts them, and the theatre audience too (if any of them aren't already with him), for this is decidedly a feel-good show. His tale of the miserly old Ebenezer Scrooge who is taken back to look at how he lost his own sense of joy and generosity by the appearance of the ghost of his older partner Marley and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future is given a musical treatment that draws on familiar carols and popular musical hall and classical tunes.
With a cast of eighteen, most of whom also double as instrumentalists or puppeteers as well as actors and singers, Joe Fredericks' lively production packs the place with people as well as energy, especially in the joyful scenes at the home of Mr and Mrs Fezziwig (Andrew Williams and Judith Street) where Scrooge (Oliver Paterson, in youthful contrast to the watching Old Scrooge) makes the fateful choice that decides the path is life will take. Adam Stone makes a pleasant, ever-hopeful Bob Crachit with Heather Saunders as his missus. Jonathan Battersby makes a cantankerous Old Scrooge slowly seeing the light as he watches his own past and future on the trips organised by a female Christmas Past whom he sees as a tattered version of the Princess Cinderella of his childhood (Kilke van Buren), the mellifluous Welsh voiced Christmas Present (Richard Delaney) and Tiny Tm as Christmas Yet to Come (Finn Bennett at the performance I saw).
There is some clever puppetry, some sprightly dancing (choreography by Racky Plews) and the whole is stylishly dressed and mounted - though I don't think that even the reformed Ebenezer would go into the street or out to Christmas dinner in his night shirt. There are some scary moments that may frighten you as much as Scrooge but the tone is largely upbeat and while not lacking sentiments thankfully avoids sickly sentimentality.
A very popular show last year, this revival will put you in a splendidly Christmas mood, and the music sound so familiar that you almost feel you've had a singsong and certainly will have a warm glow, even without a glassful of mulled wine. I reckon Nigel Lister's ever present Mr Dickens certainly wins his bet if the audience has any say in deciding it.
At King's Head Theatre Tuesday - Sunday until 10th January, 2009
The Stage Review of A Christmas Carol 2009
A Christmas Carol
Published Monday 7 December 2009 at 14:00 by Francesca Whiting
Walking into the modestly-sized King’s Head Theatre is like walking back in time, into an atmospheric, Victorian London.
The small stage is bursting with activity as the actors, all dressed in traditional 19th-century costume, gather in a pub setting. Before long, Charles Dickens arrives to begin his tale of A Christmas Carol and so begins an hour and a half of lively song, music, puppetry and dance.
Displaying an impressive range of musical skills, from violin, flute and cello to trumpet-playing, the 16-strong cast make moving around such a small stage look easy and some of the choreography is excellent, in particular the scene when Scrooge is shown the future and the locals are celebrating his death.
Seven-year-old Harry Page makes an endearing Tiny Tim, hobbling around the stage on a crutch as big as him, and the scene when he dies, as the cast hold candles and sing Silent Night, is a real tear-jerker.
Scrooge, excellently played by Jonathan Battersby, is truly mean, while the ghosts - one a larger than life-sized puppet - provide some amusing and chilling action.
While Scrooge flies through the sky with the Ghost of the Christmas Past (Kilke Van Buren) there’s some imaginative use of props as the cast run around the stage with models of various London landmarks, including Big Ben and St Paul’s Cathedral, to conjure up the city below.
It’s impossible not to get into the Christmas spirit with this heart-warming and truly entertaining show, and it’s certainly one the whole family will enjoy.
Published Monday 7 December 2009 at 14:00 by Francesca Whiting
Walking into the modestly-sized King’s Head Theatre is like walking back in time, into an atmospheric, Victorian London.
The small stage is bursting with activity as the actors, all dressed in traditional 19th-century costume, gather in a pub setting. Before long, Charles Dickens arrives to begin his tale of A Christmas Carol and so begins an hour and a half of lively song, music, puppetry and dance.
Displaying an impressive range of musical skills, from violin, flute and cello to trumpet-playing, the 16-strong cast make moving around such a small stage look easy and some of the choreography is excellent, in particular the scene when Scrooge is shown the future and the locals are celebrating his death.
Seven-year-old Harry Page makes an endearing Tiny Tim, hobbling around the stage on a crutch as big as him, and the scene when he dies, as the cast hold candles and sing Silent Night, is a real tear-jerker.
Scrooge, excellently played by Jonathan Battersby, is truly mean, while the ghosts - one a larger than life-sized puppet - provide some amusing and chilling action.
While Scrooge flies through the sky with the Ghost of the Christmas Past (Kilke Van Buren) there’s some imaginative use of props as the cast run around the stage with models of various London landmarks, including Big Ben and St Paul’s Cathedral, to conjure up the city below.
It’s impossible not to get into the Christmas spirit with this heart-warming and truly entertaining show, and it’s certainly one the whole family will enjoy.
Saturday, 5 December 2009
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
It seems that everybody and anybody is doing 'A Christmas Carol' in London this year.
Although unfortunately most have had extremely poor reviews by the critics.
Best bet is to go and see the one at The King's Head Theatre. Phil Willmott's adaptation was performed last year and comes back bigger, better and brighter, under the guidance once again of Joe Fredericks and MokitaGrit Productions.
It really won't fail to entertain and move in equal measure.
One audience member on the first preview two days ago, remarked that they had 'gone through every possible emotion' and had found the show 'extroadinary'.
Let's hope, after a storming press night, that the critics agree.
Although unfortunately most have had extremely poor reviews by the critics.
Best bet is to go and see the one at The King's Head Theatre. Phil Willmott's adaptation was performed last year and comes back bigger, better and brighter, under the guidance once again of Joe Fredericks and MokitaGrit Productions.
It really won't fail to entertain and move in equal measure.
One audience member on the first preview two days ago, remarked that they had 'gone through every possible emotion' and had found the show 'extroadinary'.
Let's hope, after a storming press night, that the critics agree.
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