Northern Ballet: A Christmas Carol – Sheffield Lyceum

Northern Ballet’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ is infused with festive wonder and spectacle, but is ultimately haunted by ghosts of an unwillingly bygone era, suffering in real-time, solemnly foreboding a future of split community and chairs belonging, but not occupied.

There is an abundance of talent on display in this show, with some excellent set pieces and performances. It works well between large and small scale, with seamless interplay between soloists and group dancers. Even its transitional qualities in and out of scenes is impressive. This piece is both large and small, but for all the right reasons, it usually feels large.

The design of the show is fantastic, with an immensely adept understanding of transformative set design and utility. Wardrobe excels in many areas, with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come a hunkering, phantasmagoric horror, and Scrooge’s decrepit appearance mirroring only the darkness of his nihilistic, greed-obsessed mind. The very accomplished visual facets of the show are accentuated by excellent use of colour. The dark greys of Scrooge’s world dissipate only for the hellish glow of his bed where he is warned of his damnation if he continues to live his life the way he chooses, and for the bulbous red and green glows of Christmas spirit and joy. It really compliments this realm where story is elevated beyond voice and into movement and dance, a world where what our eyes are shown alone holds larger significance.

Special mention has to be paid to Harris Beattie as Bob Cracthit, whose stellar performance encapsulates the desperate and essential spirit of this great British story. It is his unifying quality and attention to detail in his performance that emboldens the entire work. The same can be said for Jonathan Hanks as Scrooge, whose meticulously playful facials and writhing in decadence also embellishes this Northern Ballet interpretation of Dickens’ world-famous work.

The absence of an orchestra hangs heavy over the work. Here we bear witness to a body amputated from spirit. Northern Ballet’s decision to not feature their staple orchestra has been a controversial one, and whilst it may seem ethically dubious, it also appears to be artistically confused. As impressive as the compositions offered were, hearing them fizz through the surround sound with an on-rails approach to the action on stage was detrimental. It severed the liveness, dividing the spectacle into performed reaction to dead action. It’s a call and response that does not appease. Although the rhythmic principles of a live orchestra and its relationship with the performers is essentially the same, it loses something tangible – the all-being-here, the collective, the sound and vision. It renders the work incomplete in my view.

Broadly speaking, A Christmas Carol gets an awful lot right, but its feel-good factor is dampened slightly by the phantom promise of what this show could be.

Reviewer: Louis Thompson

Reviewed: 7th November 2024

North West End UK Rating: