A Christmas Carol – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Shakespeare North Playhouse is one of the most stunning venues in the country, there is absolutely no doubt about that. Home to the only timber-built “cockpit” theatre outside London, it was built throughout lockdown and is an experience unlike anything else you can find in the North West.

The play is a mixture of modern and traditional costumes, dialogue, movement and northern references, and is a pantomime musical with original songs delivered by the four actor-musicians. The folk music involved at least 10 instruments, all played by the incredible multi-skilled ensemble and musically directed by Jessica Dives. Even for a pantomime there was a lot of audience involvement, with some exciting things for us to do during the performance. I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but the kids in the audience had a blast watching this play. Everything about this retelling is far removed from a traditional setting, and it all felt fresh and exciting.

The in-the-round configuration was beautifully staged by director Ellie Hurt and movement director Grace Goulding, with various unique moments of movement and choreography. If you enjoy an energetic, explorative piece of theatre, this is definitely for you.

The company, made up of Zoe West, Jessica Dives, Eddy Westbury and Abigail Middleton performed the whole show with fluidity, intention and comic delivery of the very highest quality. In the programme the cast are quoted as talking about how much they have ‘had a laugh’ together in rehearsals, and this really translates on stage. The show was so much fun for the whole audience. It would be remiss not to mention the quality of musicianship – the playing of multiple instruments, including voice, was of an extremely high standard.

The three spirits were uniquely developed, and the idea for each of these fitted the vision of a play out of time perfectly. The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-come was particularly interesting, with some true reflection of the future which we now live in, in a way which was comical, yet alarming at its core.

If you want to see a traditional production of A Christmas Carol, then this show is not for you. Whilst there was some sense of a message, and that was relevant to a 21st century audience, the play felt more like an original story than a retelling of a classic and the essence of ‘A Christmas Carol’ was somewhat missing. When the poignant moments came these were a little transparent due to misplaced comedy, further dispelling the key messages of Dickens’ original story. It’s important to say that the vast majority of the play was hilarious, the audience were absolutely drawn in by the comic writing, which was for the most part well-timed and stylistically fitting.

There were unnecessary changes to the original text (“let them die then, it’s their choice” springs to mind) throughout. If more of Dickens’ text were to be included, it could have made even such a drastic retelling better reflect the timeless message of the original. There’s a reason the story is still so prevalent even now, and the volume of changes to that story were vast.

If you are looking for a show for the whole family this Christmas, A Christmas Carol at Shakespeare North Playhouse is hilarious, energetic and unique – the kids will have a ball.

Thank you to Shakespeare North for their hospitality, and for a fantastic evening’s entertainment.

A Christmas Carol runs at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot until 7th January. https://shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk/

Reviewer: Andrew Lee

Reviewed: 1st December 2022

North West End UK Rating: ★★★★