The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's Production of 'A Christmas Carol'

Thank you for your kind invitation to report on ‘The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s production of: “A Christmas Carol”’.  This twice postponed production was set at Christmas, although staged in mid-May, with seasonal music and decorations in the hall, complete with a Christmas tree and tinsel.  This gave the show an early feel of unreality. The programme was very well designed, with multiple alterations, date changes and crossings out. The use of the inner programme for the Farndale information was superb and helped no end in sorting out who was who!  

This was an evening of pure enjoyment!  The start with the entry through the audience was startling, as was the lack of cast onstage – all part of the plot. Then to see a lead character hobble in with multiple injuries was unbelievable!  There were some lovely moments of craziness: the hand coming out of the stove, the tea pouring drowning out the script, the face in the front door and the rolling snowman were all hilarious – as were the wrong lighting and sound cues and the repartee with the stage crew.  

The costumes were lovely, as a Victorian style prevailed – apart from under the snowman! Scrooge looked very good in both ‘his’ suit and nightgown.  The ghost scenes worked remarkably well – and hopscotch on stage is a first!  The raiding of Scrooge’s house was very good, especially when the hat and beard of the raider came off together.  The scene with the money bags was great with bags flying in all directions while the scenes with the dance interludes were very funny.

The music added a lot to the production, with the setting of the Christmas mood at the beginning and moving on to Widor’s Toccata and Fugue later.  The ‘radio signals’ from ambulance drivers and taxis were very well done and totally believable.  So the chaos reigned both on and off stage.  However, it was the cast who made this show so good. All the acting was wonderfully realistic and over the top at the same time.  How you all kept tabs in what was going on was amazing.

On Stage Main Characters:

Thelma Greenwood: portrayed as a determined self-confident character, intent on keeping the performance on track while competing with Phoebe in a power-struggle for supremacy.  Excelling in the starring role of Scrooge, amusing incidents such as the problem of Scrooge’s too long vertical bed, were carried out perfectly in character.

Phoebe Reece:  hilariously portrayed as a bossy, self-important character, frequently interrupting the play and the stage crew to give her opinion and issue irrelevant instructions.  A forceful rival to Thelma for control of the production.  Excellent audience interaction.

Felicity Jones:  very well portrayed as a rather shy actor, this was an entertaining performance with some very funny moments, including the snowman knocking- over incident and miming to Gordon’s deep voice as the top half of Christmas Present.  Amusing and unexpected, the tap-dancing Fred was a delight.

Gordon Pugh:  portrayed as a rather grumpy character trying to stage-manage the chaotic production as well as perform eight different roles.  There were some very funny moments especially when he was stuck In the door as Jacob Marley and when playing the part of Mrs Cratchit, complete with beard and Irish accent.  An amusing performance with his long-suffering personality clearly defined.

Mercedes Ellis: played as a vulnerable character, suffering from various injuries that were very well sustained.  The six characters played were nicely individual, with the lovely Irish accent of Bob Cratchit  being most impressive.  The on-stage accidents were very well acted.

Altogether, this was a really fun evening of classic Farndale drama. The jumble of letters at the interval and end capped off a farcical production.  Congratulations to everyone involved!

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