SEARCH CurtainUp
REVIEWS
FEATURES
NEWS (Etcetera)
ADDRESS BOOKS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
On TKTS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
NYC Weather
London Review
A Christmas Carol
by Lizzie Loveridge
|
I'm as happy as an angel. I'm as merry as a schoolboy. I'm as giddy as a drunken man.
-- Ebenezer Scrooge |
Tim Pigott-Smith as a definitive Scrooge (Photo: John Haynes)
|
I wonder how much we would know about those nineteenth century Christmases if it were not for the writings of Charles Dickens? The original was designed to be read out loud and so Dickens' words have a sound, redolent of atmosphere, all of their own. The wheezing, sneezing, freezing, foot stamping weather, the scratching and scraping of the clerks' pens in Scrooge's office, the ticking of the clock, all contribute to the picture of a Christmas in London for those who were on the poverty line.
Bartlett's production brings us the London office, a bare lightbulb replacing Scrooge's flickering candle which he takes out of its socket to take home in a new interpretation of meanness. I loved Robin Whitmore's black and white, cross hatched drawings, busy and bleak conveying Victorian clutter and shadows. The ghost of Jacob Marley appears from Scrooge's front door with the door knocker in his mouth. Christmas Past is a sparking cut out snow scene, again just a black and white drawn set, with the addition of glitter, as if from a toy theatre, in this case "Penny Plain" rather than "Tuppence Coloured". Christmas Present is conveyed by the whole cast in red velvet crinolines and trimmed bonnets, pushing overloaded supermarket trolleys, brimming with excess, and red lit, a commentary on the commercialisation of Christmas Present, 2002. A Jamaican accented Father Christmas (O-T Fagbenle) points the way to happiness for Scrooge. The cast brush the tissue paper snow off their clothes as they come in from the cold. A Christmas Carol is a brilliant example of how design does not have to cost a fortune and is all the more effective for it.
I was touched by scenes where Scrooge looks back on the Christmases of his childhood and Pigott-Smith finds the wide eyed, excited body language of a child, enthralled by the magic of Christmas. The Christmas Past scenes give a psychological picture of the child Ebenezer, lonely and with only books for companions. A Christmas Carol is about one lonely old man finding happiness through giving and through accepting the hospitality of his nephew, Fred (Javier Marzan).
The cast of eight take on dozens of parts, so well wigged, costumed, hatted and acted that you would think the cast were three times that number. Pigott-Smith convinces, as Scrooge rarely does, that he has found his inner child. He starts the play in a permanent, bad tempered grouch and ends it as one who has been prescribed Prozac and is affable, a delight as a Christmas guest and a benevolent employer. I loved Javier Marzan's Italian (?) accented Fred, with his un-English generosity to his uncle. Liza Hayden's Tim Cratchit is unsentimental and perfect.
Music is a essential part of the play with Bartlett's witty use of Dickens' words as lyrics or traditional Christmas songs and carols. I especially liked the rendition of the "Twelve Days of Christmas", "On the Fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Five undeserving relatives ...
Tickets to A Christmas Carol at the Lyric Hammersmith are the perfect family gift to themselves.
| A Christmas Carol
Written by Charles Dickens Adapted and directed by Neil Bartlett Starring: Tim Pigott-Smith With: Neal Barry, Patti Clarke, O-T Fagbenle, Liza Hayden, Javier Marzan, Karen Tomlin, Louise Yates Designer: Robin Whitmore Lighting Designer: Paule Constable Musical Direction: Simon Deacon Running time: Two hours with one interval Box Office: 020 8741 2311 Booking to 11th January 2003 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 3rd December 2002 Performance at the Lyric Hammersmith, King Street, London W6 (Tube Station: Hammersmith) |
Books Make Great Gifts
Peter Ackroyd's History of London: The Biography
London Sketchbook
6,500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor.
Click image to buy.
Go here for details and larger image.
Peter Ackroyd's History of London: The Biography
London Sketchbook
6,500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor.
Click image to buy.
Go here for details and larger image.