A Christmas Carol

Exmouth Players A Christmas Carol Blackmore Theatre Director Peter Nickols-Rawle 16 January 2013 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by John Mortimer was very cleverly portrayed by Exmouth Players. The staging with swing doors was very good, making it easier for the cast and stagehands to get on and off stage, however I found the back drop with constantly changing lighting on what looked like modern discs incongruous and not in keeping with the period, the open black curtain on the side exposed the audience to seeing the Prompt etc and was distracting. Scrooge was hardly off the stage and got the character just right. He was every inch Ebenezer Scrooge with wonderful expressions and movement down to his finger tips. Fred, Scrooges nephew was very convincing and also made an excellent old Joe really getting into the character. The scene where Scrooges possessions were haggled over was particularly skilful and impressive. The joint leader of the chorus, who never fails to impress, fulfilled expectations as Mrs Fezziwig and Charwoman. The Spirits were very good and convincing; in particular The Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come was cleverly done indeed. The part of Bob Cratchit was expertly played portraying the pathos and the absolute goodness of the character to perfection The mass chorus reading from books was a brave thing to attempt but did not quite come off. Some members of the chorus used books and some had learnt it and therefore they were not always in unison, losing some of Dickens best loved lines as a result. Having said that I thoroughly enjoyed this version of the famous story and my congratulations to Peter Nicols-Rawle and all concerned. A great evening out in this great little theatre.

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