|
The Brockley Jack Theatre presents
A Christmas Carol
Tobby Eddington as Scrooge by Charles Dickens
Adapted for the stage by Neil Bartlett
Cast: Marcus Adolphy, Jenny Barbrook, Peter Clapp, Davin Eadie, Toby Eddington, Paul George, Lucy Gratten, Clare Harlow and Katie Scarfe
Direction, Movement and Choreography - Kate Bannister
Choreographer (Fezziwig scene) - Judy Gordon
Musical Director -Darren Batten
Brockley Jack Theatre
8 Dec 09 – 3 Jan 2010
A review by Mags Gaisford for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Aptly, it was the evening of the day on which I’d found myself on Oxford Street with a raging man - flu that I went to see ‘Christmas Carol’. To me, the words ‘Bah, humbug’ were a jovial nicety. I was, then, in the perfect state to witness the Brockley Jack’s performance of Dickens’s ‘Ghostly little book’. The story is more or less woven into the genetic makeup of the average British citizen, whether we like it or not. Its ultimate message of festive good will perseveres, to this day, to challenge the idea that Christmas is purely about getting wasted and buying rubbish. So, Ebenezer Scrooge. The archetypal misery guts, child–hating and mean–spirited, is subjected to a course of supernatural psychoanalysis to smooth out his twisted soul. On the night of Christmas Eve, time shrinks and expands to include three nights and span his whole life time, thanks to some clever pedagogical ghosts. Together, they plunder the depths of Scrooge’s soul, stirring up nostalgia and regrets, to awaken finally the human compassion that has lain dormant since his first decision to discard love in favour of money. Granted this new perspective, and faced with the bleak, nihilistic potential outcome for his bleak, nihilistic attitude, Scrooge realises the futility of his ways. He sees that, bizarre as this relentless, ritualistic season is, there might be some point in making merry. Society’s insistence on making light in the bleak midwinter is preferable to his racing towards a cold, hard, lonely death. As Franz Kafka once said, ‘in the fight between yourself and the world, back the world’. Neil Bartlett’s stage adaptation is based cleverly around the time theme. Rhythmic, musical interludes, choruses and personalised carols add more than a touch of creative flair to this otherwise cosily traditional production. Although, in the first half, the communally vocalised time - keeping (consisting of the cast regularly repeating ‘tick’ and ‘dong’) threatens literally to wind one up, as the plot gains pace and the sense of urgency grows, it provides a suitably unnerving sense of time slipping away. The cast members are impeccably coordinated. This allows for some impressively choreographed physical group work, with many people often on stage at once, blurring the line between the spectral, the imagined and the real, whilst managing not to confuse our sense of who’s who. Toby Eddington’s Scrooge has the perfect amount of pathos to engage our attention throughout. Particularly entertaining caricatures are the lecherous thieves sharing out the dead miser’s meagre belongings, and the all – female waist-coated businessmen chortling over his death. There are innovatively choreographed scenes by Director Kate Bannister. If anything, the eerie factor could have been more fully exploited. One of the most effective scenes is where the late Jacob Marley’s tortured spirit writhes in the chains of his deathly bondage, proving, even to the sceptical Scrooge, to be more than ‘an undigested bit of beef’. The costume design is subtle and convincing, as is the stage set, directing focus rightly towards the dynamic action, with the odd quirky prop thrown in for amusement. The Brockley Jack is a fancy – looking pub with a relatively spacious, stylish theatre attached, making it well worth a visit. In its time Dickens’s novella and subsequent theatrical adaptations were seen as criticisms of industrial capitalism, whose avaricious ethos is personified in Scrooge. Today, capitalism has found its answer in consumerism, which allows us to be both full of Christmas cheer and obsessed with money. Good will can be channelled through useless expensive novelty gadgets. So if you’re concerned that allowing this play to liven your spirits will deprive you of a target for your restless bile, aim it not at Christmas in general, but at quality knitted Santa tat.
£12, £9 concessions, £36 family ticket (2 adults & 2 under 16s) Brockley Jack Theatre 410 Brockley Road, London SE4 2DH
Please note Tuesday 22 December is now SOLD OUT
Copyright © EXTRA! EXTRA All rights reserved
|
Couzens