REVIEW - A Christmas Carol is a glorious production full of laughter, fantastic music and an outrageous dollop of Christmas Spirit(s)!

On Thursday, we were invited to Lowry, Salford to see A Christmas Carol - The Musical. Read what our reviewer Tom Maher thought about this excellent festive production...

I am a huge fan of A Christmas Carol, especially as my father used to read it to me around Christmas time each year when I was a child. I actually quite dislike reading Charles Dickens – I’m not certain whether that is because I studied Great Expectations at school (nothing seems to put you off a writer more than studying them at GCSE!) or because of my general dislike of the man himself. But A Christmas Carol is something else – witty, scary, heartfelt all within a few pages. It has become the archetypal redemption story, managing somehow to remain relevant more than 100 years after it was first published.

There have been many, many adaptations during that time – and it would be quite wrong for any review of A Christmas Carol not to mention the glorious Muppets version – all taking a slightly different approach, or adding a new layer. For example I found the BBC version with Guy Pearce, playing a Scrooge who was clearly neurodiverse a fascinating approach, but I also felt it did perhaps take away some of his own decision-making responsibility for his predicament.

So what would be the impact of making Scrooge a woman?

Gender switching roles has become common place and I always think it interesting how it can completely shift the interpretation of a role. We saw a recent production of Macbeth at the Globe in London, and King Duncan was actually Queen Duncan – somehow it did make the murder by Macbeth all the more horrific.

So I was really excited to see what impact a female Scrooge would have on the telling of the story. And I wasn’t disappointed! This is glorious production full of laughter, fantastic music and an outrageous dollop of Christmas Spirit(s)!

Apart from a female Scrooge, A Christmas Carol The Musical closely follows the story Dickens wrote, that of Evelina Scrooge, a miserly and cold-hearted businesswoman in 19th-century London. The narrative follows her dramatic transformation from a greedy loner to a generous and compassionate woman.

The story begins on Christmas Eve, with Scrooge showing disdain for the festive season and refusing to help those in need. She dismisses her cheerful nephew Fred’s invitation to Christmas dinner and rebuffs a group of men seeking charitable donations. At her counting house, she reluctantly grants her underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, a day off for Christmas.

That evening, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of her former business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, condemned to wander the Earth in chains as punishment for his greed, warns Scrooge of a similar fate unless she changes her ways. Marley tells Scrooge that she will be visited by three spirits.

The first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past, shows Scrooge scenes from her own life, including her lonely childhood, a joyful Christmas party with her employer Fezziwig, and the end of her engagement. These memories evoke regret and sorrow in Scrooge.

The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to see the festive celebrations of others. She witnesses the Cratchit family’s modest but heartfelt Christmas, where she is struck by the poor health of Bob’s young son, Tiny Tim. Scrooge also sees Fred’s lively Christmas gathering, where she is mocked for her miserly ways but also pitied.

The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, presents a grim vision of Scrooge’s future. She sees the death of Tiny Tim and her own lonely, unmourned demise. Terrified, Scrooge vows to change her ways.

Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning as a changed woman. She becomes generous and kind, providing a feast for the Cratchits, increasing Bob’s wages, and embracing the Christmas spirit. Scrooge’s transformation brings joy to those around her, and she becomes a beloved figure in the community, keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year.

Claire Moore’s (The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Camelot, Les Miserables) Scrooge is a grumpy, mean old woman – but perhaps lacking in the fear factor of other productions. That said, for me this made her less of a caricature, and the overall arc of her story, particularly her redemption, felt all the more believable because of it. Moore certainly has a lot of fun with the role, dominating every scene as she strides back and forth across the stage, and delivering sharp lines and sour “ba humbug’s” with a real relish. Moore has a glorious voice, in particular as she pleads with the ghost of Christmas Future for help to become full of Christmas spirit towards the end of the show with an absolute powerhouse performance, drawing cheers from the audience last night.

Barry Keenan’s (Newsies, The White Hankerchief, Treasure Island) Marley sets the tone superbly, accompanied by raggedy ghosts and dragging huge chains which twist around his neck and he uses as a prop to ensnare and coerce Evelina to pay attention to the recollection of her past life. His manic hair and wild-eyed, menacing performance definitely gave the audience the shivers!  

Mari McGinlay (Lifeline, Greatest Days, Claus, Hairspray) plays a garish, shrieking and slightly crazy Ghost of Christmas past, dressed in a white pearlescent suit with streaming red hair, clearly thrilled at the chance to taunt Scrooge. There is a huge amount of energy in her performance, and she got a lot of laughs as she channelled Michael Aspel with a ‘This is your life’ moment!

James Hume (Kiss Me Kate, A Christmas Carol, The Phantom of the Opera) delivers a phenomenal performance as The Ghost of Christmas Present, appearing somewhere between fantastic drag queen and pantomime dame. He plays the role very much as the latter at first, and he takes every opportunity to play to the audience, yet Hume becomes more serious as the scene explores the many social injustices faced by the poor.  For me, this was definitely the stand out performance of the night.

Josie Benson (Mamma Mia, Sweeney Todd, Porgy & Bess) as the Ghost of Christmas Future brings a different feel to the production, leaning into the spooky and supernatural. Dressed in pure black, Benson’s performance creates an eerie feel that really reflects the sombre reality that Scrooge is facing. The entrance of black hooded monks during this scene and the stage floor engulfed in smoke really adds to the discomfort and coldness – and you could tell how effective this was by the stillness of the audience.

Alexander Evans (Bonnie and Clyde, The Sound of Music, Titanic), Matthew Jeans (High Society, White Christmas) and Chomba S. Taulo (Pretty Woman The Musical, The Book of Mormon) give strong supporting performances as Fezziwig, Bob Cratchitt and Fred respectively, and the whole ensemble deliver some superb set pieces, in particular during the party at Fezziwig’s, where the complexity of the choreography was stunning.

The score is fantastic – the perfect combination of showstoppers and more reflective pieces.  The choreography and costumes similarly promote each scene on stage.  The song during scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Present proclaiming “Good will to all men” especially stood out with the ensemble in glitzy bright red sequined costumes and sharp tap dance. 

The staging was simple but stunning, using what looked like reproductions of Dickens’ original manuscript to wall paper everything from lampposts to buildings and doors.  The stage curtain and general back drop is also in this style.   

This is a fabulous production which garnered huge applause from the audience. With no interval, it is a short 90 minutes and despite the fact that there are scary moments, A Christmas Carol The Musical is definitely suitable for tweens and teens. This is the perfect night out for anyone wanting to get into the Christmas Spirit!

WE SCORE A CHRISTMAS CAROL...

A Christmas Carol - The Musical is on until Sunday 5th January 2025.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS TODAY!