Forget Christmas trees or advent calendars, you know the festive season has arrived when A Christmas Carol hits the London theatre circuit. Alexandra Palace joins the fray this year with an adaptation penned by Mark Gatiss, brought to the stage by director Adam Penford and starring Matthew Cottle and Neil Morrissey as Scrooge and Marley respectively. This lighthearted take on the classic Dickens story is perfectly comfy and cheery if not much more.
In the unlikely case you’re unfamiliar with the old yuletide tale — well, firstly, congratulations on your recent emigration from Mars, but let me help you out with a summary. Scrooge is a mean old businessman who sneers at the thought of Christmas goodwill, preferring to keep his fist tightly clenched on his unspent fortunes. To instil in him the spirit of the season, supernatural intervention is required, which arrives in the form of three ghosts: Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. Together the spectres confront Scrooge with horrifying visions of his own meanness, causing him to finally see the light of Christmas generosity, and at the end everybody gets a nice roast goose for Christmas dinner (apologies for the 182-year-old spoiler).
A Christmas Carol is an oft-retold cultural classic and all the most beloved parts of the story are on offer here: the eeriness of the ghosts, the tug-on-your-heartstrings plight of Tiny Tim, the unfailing optimism that everything can be fixed with the right dose of Christmas cheer. Gatiss finds the humour in the story, and an on-stage narrator allows the best of Dickens’ language to also feature. It’s brought to life by a sumptuously Victorian set by Paul Wills, all towering wooden cabinetry and dangling chains.
So the checkboxes are all checked, but beyond this A Christmas Carol never really shifts into a higher gear. Dickens’ story was just a novella, brief and fable-like, and this adaptation doesn’t delve any deeper into Scrooge’s psychology. Without any added complexity or nuance, the play feels like it drags in places — scenes get their point across and then continue longer than needed (the song-and-dance numbers being an obvious example).
This adaptation is subtitled ‘A Ghost Story’, with Gatiss declaring his love for the supernatural aspect of the novella. A Christmas Carol certainly dials up the spookiness and in some cases it’s very effective, with strong contributions from lighting designer Philip Gladwell and sound designer Ella Wahlstrom. But there are times when this clashes awkwardly with the humorous interjections; a few moments that are clearly intended to be serious instead draw laughs.
In the great pantheon of A Christmas Carol adaptations, will this one stand out from the bunch? Probably not. But it’s a perfectly fine, affectionate retelling of a story that will no doubt continue to resonate with audiences as it has for nearly two centuries.
Tickets and listing information can be found here
