A Christmas Carol Book – Middle Temple Hall

A Christmas Carol was performed at Middle Temple Hall, London.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

With a cast of 11 it’s more ambitious in scale than many Fringe shows and we start with a choral arrangement of ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ with emphasis on its minor key, new words and David Burt (excellent) as Scrooge crossly dismissing such jollity.

Staged in a square playing space with seating on three sides facing Middle Temple Hall’s famous Elizabethan carved oak screen you could hardly have a more atmospheric setting – especially as I attended a 3pm matinee throughout which it gradually grew darker.

The abridgement of the story is lighter here than in many accounts of A Christmas Carol (book and lyrics by Ben Horslen and John Risebero). Antic Disposition’s show runs for just over two hours (with interval for mulled wine and mince pies – obviously) so it’s leisurely and pretty faithful to Dickens. That means, however, that it’s a tad wordy in places.

The sound and light provides a suitably creepy ambience, especially at the entrance of Richard Holt, clanking and grey in his chains as Jacob Marley’s Ghost and the build up of tension before the appearance of each of the three spirits.

In a generally strong cast, Matt Whipps is warmly convincing as Bob Cratchit and I liked McCallam Connell as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

There’s a fine performance from Jack Heydon as Scrooge’s nephew Fred – cheerful, decent and enjoying life: the old man’s opposite in so many ways. Heydon is also a pretty good trumpeter, playing lots of top lines, flourishes, fanfares and so on in the music which permeates this show.

The role of Tiny Tim is shared. At the performance I saw Dylan Hall found all the poignancy the role requires.

Nick Barstow’s music – delightful arrangements played by a band of four plus several actor-musos in the cast – includes many Christmas Carols or references to them.

I particularly liked the folksy arrangement of ‘Tis the Season to Be Jolly’ upliftingly danced as a quasi-Circassian Circle at Mr Fezziwig’s party. Long before they became inextricably linked with Christmas, carols were dances after all.

This adaption of Dickens’ most famous evocation of Christmas has been around for ten years but this was the first time I’d seen it. Why did I wait so long? It’s attractive, poignant, wry and the live music is a treat.

But it comes with a problem. There are a lot of new words in the sung numbers relating to Victorian social conditions – or at least I think they do. The trouble with Middle Temple Hall is that, stunningly atmospheric as it is, the acoustics are not great and I couldn’t hear most of the sung words which is a pity.

Susan Elkin