“One magical night” were the first three words of the press release describing the well-known story, A Christmas Carol, ahead of Northern Ballet’s run of the Charles Dickens’ classic at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening.
Those same three words aren’t praise enough to describe what we theatregoers witnessed when this amazing company took to the stage.
It was sheer perfection – from the opening snowy scenes of Victorian life, to the closing joyous scene amidst the falling snow.
The famous story, set in Victorian Leeds for this production, focuses on miserly money-lender Ebenezer Scrooge who is shown the error of his ways after visits from three spirits, Christmas Past, Present and Future.
It’s a gloomy start, with the funeral procession of Scrooge’s business partner, Jacob Marley.
Fast forward seven years to Christmas Eve. Carol singers collecting for the poor find themselves outside of Scrooge’s office, with his lowly clerk, jovial Bob Cratchit, joining in the merriment.
These scenes are some of the best on the night. Three tartan-clad dancers actually skipped off the stage en pointes!
Scrooge turns up, breaking the singers’ banners and roughly ordering his clerk back to work in the freezing cold office.
Home-time arrives and it’s when Scrooge gets home that his night terrors begin. First a ghostly visit from Marley, who, with chains clanking warns his earthly business partner that if he doesn’t change his ways, he will suffer endless torment, like himself, for eternity. It is Marley who warns of the coming of the three spirits.
The three make their entrance during the night – Christmas Past, a vision in floaty white dress, arrives through Scrooge’s bedroom window; Christmas Present, resplendent in a green velvet cloak, emerges from the back of the stage. The scary spirit of Christmas Future appears, adorned in white, flowing rags with huge, tattered angel wings on its back and a skull face.
This classic tale is so well-known I’m not giving anything away by revealing Scrooge does come good and it’s the Christmas spirit that he, and us in the rapt audience, come away full of.
The stage setting in this amazing show changed throughout, with minimum fuss.
Backgrounds emerged as if by magic. The ghost of Christmas Past shows a young Scrooge dancing at his boss, Fezziwig’s, festive party. Old Scrooge looks on in horror at how his younger self is behaving with his fiancée, prompting her to hand back her engagement ring.
But this scene also had very amusing moments, courtesy of Fezziwig and his wife, who made the perfect comedy act with their drunken shenanigans.
Christmas Present takes Scrooge to very happy scenes at the Cratchit household. Poor as the family of six are, the old miser is moved by the happiness he sees. And when the youngest child, polio sufferer Tiny Tim, starts to sing How Far Is It To Bethlehem?, well it was an ‘ah’ moment for us all. We weren’t privy to this young actor’s name, but he did a wonderful job.
The tragic scenes shown by the ghost of Christmas Future prove too much for Scrooge, and his relief upon waking up on Christmas morning, alive, preceded merry scenes all round.
This production has everything – atmospheric (recorded) music throughout, glorious costumes (and make-up) and the most magnificent stage settings.
But the icing on the cake has to be the dancing from the unbelievably talented Northern Ballet dancers. No cast list was handed out and I wouldn’t like to hazard any guesses, name-wise, so all I can do is apologise for not crediting any dancer.
You were all truly magnificent and absolutely deserved the enthusiastic standing ovation at the end of the, most definitely, magical night.
Running until Saturday, November 16th, 2024; 7.30pm with 2.30pm matinees on Thursday, 14th and Saturday, 16th. Tickets cost from £10. Call (01482) 300306 or visit www.hulltheatres.co.uk
Reviewer: Jackie Foottit
Reviewed: 12th November 2024
North west End UK Rating: