‘Tis the season for eggnog, giving, caring and to love one another. In Australia, it’s also the time for chaffing and sweating through our 40 degree days! But with so many of the best Christmas tales being of a snowy white Christmas, it’s difficult not to play along and enjoy it all the same.
Now, what is the most impactful of those Christmas stories, the most iconic, longest lasting and the most influential? It would be hard not to place Charles Dickens‘ timeless fable ‘A Christmas Carol‘ at the top of that list!
A story of seemingly impossible redemption and personal growth, it follows one Ebenezer Scrooge (played by Erik Thomson), an old curmudgeonly money lender whose greed and bitterness has left him a very sad and lonely man. He just needs some help to realise it! One Christmas Eve night, he is visited by the spirit of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley (Anthony Cogin). Marley, now clung in chains forever, warns Ebenezer throughout the night that he will be visited by three more ghosts. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Alison Whyte), The Ghost of Christmas Present (Samantha Morley) and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (…this would be spoiling things).
Throughout his restless night, Ebenezer will have his life choices and his resolve challenged. He will see those whom he loved and let slip away, those whose love he rejected, and those whose love for each other he inadvertently destroyed. Perhaps by morning, Ebenezer will have learned his lesson or else he and others will be doomed to a lesser world of his own creation.
First written nearly 200 years ago in 1843, Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol not only was a celebration of the spirit of charity and giving at Christmas time but the novel went on to forever impact it as well. Aspects such as family gatherings, seasonal foods and drinks, dancing, revelry and even the sense of generosity. All of this was popularised and spread thanks to Dickens and I doubt there’s a single human out there to have had a greater impact on the annual holiday.
His story has been adapted to stage and screen countless of times and it’s one of those traditions that people just can’t get enough of. Doing their part is GWB Entertainment bringing the The Old Vic production of writer Jack Thorne‘s A Christmas Carol back to Melbourne for the third year running! Having become a smash hit since its debut in London in 2017, the theatrical production has played around the world every year due to popular demand and has won 5 Tony Awards.
This year, joining the ranks of John Simm, Rhys Ifans, David Wenham and Owen Teale is Aussie favourite Erik Thomson in portraying the miserable miser, Scrooge. Thomson is spectacular in his portrayal, being able to branch all aspects of the character, from the despicable greed and cruel selfishness of the play’s opening to the childlike whimsy and innocence of from his Christmas past.
When people think of A Christmas Carol, they inevitably think of its adaptations more than the original book. So, it’s a story with which it is safe to take some liberties with and Jack Thorne‘s reinterpretation is quite interesting. For one, we do not just witness Scrooge watching on as an outside observer as he does in many takes on the story. Rather, here, he takes a central role in his nocturnal visions, interacting himself with the characters of his past, present and future.
This allows for the audience to grow much more of a kinship with Scrooge as we get to see him as this man who has shunned life itself, rather than just being a third party to a younger him doing it. His relationship with his sister Little Fan (Aisha Adara), his ill-fated romance with Belle (Sarah Morrison) and his tutelage by her father Fezzwig (Grant Piro), all these people seem much closer thanks to this approach. There are also deeper scenes displayed between Ebenezer and his abusive father (also Anthony Cogin).
The supporting cast are wonderful as well with Alison Whyte opening the door to three very different and more feminine versions of the Christmas Ghosts than we one may be used to, while the Cratchit house with father, Bob (Tim Wright) and Tiny Tim (played at my session by young Mira Feldman) reflect the happiness missing from Scrooge’s life of wealth.
You might say the show is packed to the rafters with Christmas carols and hymns to set the right mood. ‘O Holy Night’, ‘Silent Night’ and other favourites are sung by the cast and performed by the talented live band. My absolute favourite moment of the show is one I later discovered is shared by Thomson. The hymn ‘See Amid the Winter’s Snow’ plays as Scrooge awakes on Christmas day.
The cold and brilliantly moody lighting by Hugh Vanstone which enveloped much of the night is chased away by the blinding dawn of Christmas. Rob Howell as well as designing the gorgeous Victorian era costumes blew me away here with his set design. The stage appears minimalistic at first, transforms magically before our eyes and yet still had more tricks up its sleeve.
There is an overwhelming sense of joy to be had by the end of this show. With some unexpected special effects, some audience participation (don’t be put off, it’s nothing scary), and a heap of surprises. By the end the entire audience is invited in on the revelry and even my cynical self couldn’t help but from smile ear to ear by the magic if it all.
Not simply about the entertainment, the show is also designed to help those in need in the real world. It is a tale of giving selflessly and through donations, these productions have generated over 3 million Australian dollars for charitable causes. This year, GWB Entertainment have partnered with SecondBite, a leading food charity and rescue organisation. It’s almost impossible to walk out of this show without wanting to help others which I think is the best tribute to Charles Dickens the showrunners could have achieved.
A Christmas Carol is an absolute stunner of a night of entertainment and heart-warming fun for the entire family. Director Matthew Warchus, the producers, and the cast and crew, show Melbourne once more why this near two century old story has such lasting appeal. It’s a show I highly recommend you make part of your yearly Christmas celebrations.
A Christmas Carol is currently playing in Melbourne at the Comedy Theatre until December 29.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://christmascarolaustralia.com.au
Photography by Eugene Hyland.
