A Christmas Carol

I was delighted to return to The Evans Theatre, Wilmslow for A&WMTC’s latest production of the Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol, the Musical. I have to say that I was impressed from the start. The production values were strong in this production and for me, this was one of A&WMTC’s strongest productions to date in my tenure as NODA rep. Directed by Andrew Lee, there was certainly a clear vision. Andrew talks of going back to Dickens’s dark original and the perspective of poverty in London during the turn of the Century, which was valid and clear. I personally loved the use of having limited/no set which meant that the scene changes could flow into each other seamlessly. The lighting design was nothing short of brilliance and the sound quality was the best I’ve seen (or heard rather) within this space. Add in some traditional costumes to boot and we were transported to the time period intended. One thing that didn’t quite work for me were the moments when ensemble cast didn’t have a mic and weren’t positioned near the hanging stage mic. These moments were completely lost, and dialogue was missing. There were some really beautiful moments of nostalgia that we’ve become to expect within this story, and equally, Andrew Lee was able to stamp his mark to his version and his vision.

The opening visuals with the chairs, gobo lighting effect was fantastic and really introduced us into the Dickens’ world. The lighting design throughout was excellent and brilliantly layers scenes giving them texture. Of course, it would’ve been lovely to see some old-fashioned Victorian style streetlamps but overall, I adored the lighting in this production! As I mentioned above, the quality of the sound was excellent – the best I’ve heard in this space, which is acoustically very difficult. The costumes, for the most part, were effective in establishing character and they were used well in parts to aid characterisation. Some of the trousers for the men were a little long and not in-keeping with the era, however I doubt anyone in the audience noticed this.

Choreographer Emma Swain didn’t have much to do as there are no great dance numbers and the choreography was generally more movement based. However, I really liked the staging and the shaping of some of the numbers such as Link By Link and Fezziwig’s Annual Christmas Ball which were great to watch and were full of energy and intention.

Musical Director, Ed Nurse was supported by his large orchestra, who for the most part, sounded great. There were a couple of ‘bum notes’ here and there which really stood out, but generally the orchestra were a great support to this production. The cast sounded great, especially in the company numbers. I loved that actors were singing in character rather than trying to ‘sound pretty’.

The protagonist, Scrooge, was played by Adrian Grace. I was surprised as to how little Scrooge has to do in this musical. Despite being in practically every scene, he mostly has to react to others and things going on around him, no mean feat, but Adrian did well to capture the audience and hold our attention throughout. I preferred the happy scrooge at the end and Adrian really came to life and was enjoyable to watch. His rapport with the people he interacted with was brilliant.

Myles Ryan played the part of Bob Cratchit and was fab in this role. Despite looking too young to have a large family, his singing voice and characterisation was fab, and he was strong in this role. The scenes with Cratchit and Tiny Tim were very cute to watch!

Katie Fisher as Mrs Cratchit had her work cut out bring on stage with so many children and I really enjoyed her strong matriarchal interpretation. Also strong and commending, were Michael Sneck (Mr Fizziwig) and Francesca Bowman (Mrs Fizziwig). There scenes were high energy and fun and really helped add light and comedic to the darker moments.

Jacob Marley was played by Bradley Snelling. I loved Bradley’s interpretation of this character who often comes across as a little stereotypical. Bradley’s storytelling was fab, and Link by Link was one of the highlights of the whole show.

The Ghost of Christmas Past was played by Lily Smith. Whilst I personally didn’t like (or understand) the styling of Lily’s character (skates and lights) this has no reflection on her interpretation. Lily’s storytelling was good and entertaining to watch. Her singing voice was strong also.

The Ghost of Christmas Present was played by Gareth Baddeley. I really enjoyed the energy that Gareth brought to the stage – which was infectious. Gareth’s scenes were a highlight and really lifted the mood. His section was brilliantly staged with the spotlights etc – lovely!

The Ghost(s) of Christmas Future were played by Elaine Thorburn and Jill McCleod. Again, wonderful storytelling and great diction and projection.

The supporting cast were great, and I really loved watching them. This is a good musical for a supporting cast and every actor was well drilled in both movement and shaping with choreography and direction. I really feel that they were totally on board with the directors’ overall vision which is highly important. Whilst it would be unfair for me to single anyone out for fear of omitting anyone, I have to mention Charlotte Tarus as Tiny Tim who was exceptionally cute and sang beautifully!

Overall, this was a really enjoyable afternoon at the theatre. This society certainly deserved a bigger audience than they had and whilst there are no big showstoppers or numbers to go out of the theatre singing to, this was a very well received show. I thank A&WMTC for their kind hospitality (Jill Thomason-Stewart) and wish them all the very best for their next production.

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