A Christmas Carol at Arts Theatre

A Christmas Carol at Arts Theatre

26 November, 2009
by: Naima Khan

This play within a play is a feat on all fronts. The acting, the puppetry, the lighting and the music are all ambitious, and pulled off with sophistication and flair. Impressive right from the start, the whole theatre, in décor and lighting lends itself to this Christmas classic.  After squeezing through the crowded upstairs foyer, not able to note much other than the carollers outside, my bud Colin and I nestle on to some very comfy sofas in a downstairs bar, quickly filling up with theatre goers. The carollers add a festive touch and help get everybody in the mood but it’s too cold to stand outside and listen and they’re not likely to be at every show anyway. Plus, we have a pop-up programme to look through. A pop-up programme wins points.

The lights go down and two irritating, inconsiderate punters stumble down the right aisle trying to plant themselves in seats already taken.  They sound posh, that makes them even more annoying and nothing like the geezer walking down the left aisle with a torch complaining about the theatre being too dark.  Bang! The idiots collide. They are Lou and Stephen, two out of work actors and Sid and Danny, two painter decorators who decide with the help of Bertolina the Jamaican theatre cat and Charlie the theatre mouse that they’re going to put on a play for us since we’re all assembled and waiting.



The production expertly ‘breaks through the fourth wall’ as Colin put it. It has exactly the right amount of audience interaction for families with kids of all ages.  After the tarpaulin that Danny and Sid try to cover us with is removed from our heads, the indomitable teeth-kissing Bertolina voiced by Sharon D. Clarke (Holby City) wins over the crowd with her directing talents and the cast launch into a multiple-role triumph playing over 30 characters between them. 

Scrooge is played by none other than Gareth Hale (of Hale and Pace) who makes the miserable git’s turn around believable, despite giving the ghosts what for. Hale actually plays painter-decorator Sid who plays the old miser. Sid, just like Scrooge is disaffected with everyone including his cheery nephew after the death of his sister. Playing Scrooge’s optimistic, charming nephew Danny, Simon Lipkin transforms himself seamlessly through his array of characters including the funny but miserable surviving Cratchit son and unsettling grave-robbing  type character that is east end Old Joe.  Rebecca Thornhill is a bit too genteel when she first appears and I worry that I’ll spend the whole time trying to get past the posh voice; but she shines when she gets her chance to sing and is incredibly entertaining. Her east end accent is spot on in her portrayal of the wayward laundry lady responsible for dressing Scrooge’s body. Much kudos goes to Michael Matus who may have played Bob Cratchit a little too camp but with the help of lightening that made everybody jump and some eerie green fog I could almost taste, scared me crapless as the ghost of Christmases to come.  The script contains a minimal amount of cheese which is easy to overlook since it’s probably necessary for children.



Actual Director, (not cat director) Sussie McKenna has found an ingenious way to make Tiny Tim less irritating than usual. She has him played by a mouse (voiced by Matthew White) who faultlessly performs a solo which I didn’t quite follow but is something about how much he loves the great big cheese that is the moon. I laughed a lot, that much I remember. The show uses hand puppets to great comedic effect and shadow puppets to invoke Scrooge’s creepy memories of his miserable childhood Christmases. The lighting and projection guide our focus over an intentionally chaotic set and is utilised brilliantly when the ghost of Christmas present tries to curb Scrooge’s religious bigotry explaining that we can all celebrate together. After Scrooge asks ‘What of those who worship not as we do?’ a series of images of people worshiping all over the world is flashed across the backdrop as the ghost explains that almost every day of the year is a religious festival to someone. I’m not sure if it was meant to be as funny as I found it but they definitely get points for effort. This sort of thing should be in more Christmas shows.

Sussie McKenna and her expert production team show an impressive ability to include theatre-goers in the show not only through a witty script but also through their rapport with their audience and a compulsory invitation to Mr Fezziwig’s party. Bertolina stole the show with her accent and her unforgettable performance as Mrs Fezziwg. I’d go see it again for the cat alone.

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Naima Khan