"A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story" adapted by Mark Gatiss

Nottingham Playhouse.

Bridging that gap between Halloween and Christmas with this production was a genius idea. I have seen quite a few productions of "A Christmas Carol", and this production shows that with a sizable budget, a production of this calibre can be put on.

As we all know the story of Scrooge and his change in attitude, I won't patronise you with retelling the plot. It also means that I can get down to the nitty gritty.

Let's get this out there to start with. This is the best production of this size that I have ever seen.

The effects used are wonderful. From the quill that rotated on its' own, the book that flew off of the lectern to the video back drops, and even the "physical" ghosts that invaded the theatre from all angles, this production gave me the chills for all the right reasons. The choice of the material used for the "ghosts" making them shimmer and fly and the video techniques that brought the ghost of Jacob Marley to the stage just leaves you wonderstruck!

In Mark Gatiss's adaptation we see a more rounded retelling of the story, stemming from when Marley and Scrooge were business partners and Marley's demise to the surprise revelation at the end of the story, which I won't tell you about but it is one of those light bulb moments that occur with just one sentence, and if you miss that sentence, you'll miss the revelation, as it is not expanded on.

The set design (Paul Wills) was wonderfully Dahl-ish and a nightmare for health and safety I imagine. When you see the show, you'll see why!

Directed by Adam Penford, who I have always felt so comfortable with any production that he is involved in. Adam knows just what to do to get the best out of a production and cast. This reputation continues here. One thing that I noticed with this one is the incredible timing with sound and script delivery. Everything is so incredibly tight.

Scrooge is played by Nicholas Farrell and what a performance. He really manages to turn the audience round with this performance, and Ok we all know what the outcome and his journey is, but Nicholas really makes us feel pity for Scrooge and I even heard "aahs" at certain parts of Scrooge's reformation, and I am sure that I have never heard sympathy vocally expressed before for him in the theatre in the past. The whole physicality of the character really comes out with Farrell's performance, which makes you see through the actor to believe in the character.

Mark Gatiss takes on several characters as well as playing Marley. This production shows the generosity of the man by only taking secondary roles. He could so easily have taken the main role with him being the man behind the adaptation, but no. Whether it was Marley, alive and dead, or the Ghost of Christmas To Come, his class and comedy shown through.

Christopher Godwin was the narrator for this story, and watch and listen out near the end for a revelation concerning his character!

The rest of the cast, and I won't call them a supporting cast, were brilliant, most playing dual roles, and many of them making their professional debut in "A Christmas Carol".

The children in the play all look to have big futures and are a brilliant advert for The Television Workshop, where they are all students. It never amazes me when young children take to the stage on a professional level as they are not fazed by the audience, the lights, the stage and everything else that goes off with a performance. They are cool, professional and look at complete ease on stage. Stars of the future.

This production has everything including puppetry, some even carried out by a couple of the young kids. There is a section when the Cratchett's are sitting down for their meal which is almost balletic, performed in slow motion in its' execution. Something that the Movement Director, Georgina Lamb, I imagine is very proud of as it's performed by the senior actors as well as the juniors in perfect unison.

I mentioned the Video Design, by Nina Dunn, and this added another layer to the magic of the production. At times I felt my jaw dropping open watching what was appearing before my eyes.

The costumes, wigs and make up by the way are incredibly good. This is an understatement; just look at the photos!

I left the theatre in quite a Christmassy mood, especially after the carol singing in the production and the "snow" that fell on stage creating that special feel for the season. It's a brilliant story as it is and Gatiss' adaptation just enhanced this for me.

"A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story" is scary in parts, where it needs to be, and also a wonderful feel-good tale to get you in the mood for Christmas. And there is plenty of time for you to get the same feelings as I did as the production is on until Saturday 20 November 2021. One definitely not to be missed this year.