Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Thursday 17th December 2014
Christmas and Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870) have gone hand in hand ever since 1843 when he wrote the best known, most loved, and oft re-read of all Christmas stories,
A Christmas Carol. Later in life Dickens toured Britain and America, reading his stories from behind a lectern to rapt audiences. In the intimacy of The Bakehouse Theatre we were taken back to Dickensian England as Philip Zachariah recreated one of these performances for us, courtesy of Retrospect Arts.
Zachariah, in the role of the author, begins with the introduction written by Dickens, which says, "I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it."
Zachariah has gone to a lot of effort in preparation for this production, growing his hair and beard to match the familiar images that we see of Dickens, and also to put together a costume to complete this visual image. Standing at the lectern, a small volume in his hand from which he begins to read, it is very easy to believe that this really is Dickens in front of us. Even the lighting has been set up to give the impression of an era when candles, oil lamps, and limelight were all of the artificial lighting sources available. The Technical Direction for the performance is by
Colin Craig.
Zachariah even used the original prompt copy, made by Dickens himself for his own readings, and he has been performing this work all over the world since beginning in Melbourne in 2003 under the direction of James Adler. It couldn't be more authentic than this, unless Dickens himself was still alive, and to say that it was a polished performance would be a massive understatement.
Such is the popularity of this masterpiece, that it has been dramatised, turned into a string of films, some good, some bad, some modernised, and even one featuring the Muppets, not to mention the stage and film musical. It has been reworked in numerous ways, often appallingly but, in spite of that, it is still the most enduring of Christmas stories. This performance is another masterpiece in itself and, naturally, a faithful retelling of the tale with the editing, by and large, done by Dickens himself.
Zachariah begins at the lectern as Dickens, reading the beginning of the first chapter or, as Dickens named them, in keeping with the title, the first stave. In no time at all he emerges from that position moving further downstage to portray Ebenezer Scrooge and, shortly thereafter, the Ghost of his late business partner,
Jacob Marley, who had died on that very night seven years earlier. Soon we find that so many of the well-known and much loved characters are coming and going in front of us as Zachariah brilliantly embraces each of them, instantly changing his voice, demeanour, gait, facial expressions, and every other aspect of himself. Stave two arrives, after we have first been introduced to Scrooge's jovial nephew, Fred, and the Miser's miserably mistreated clerk, Bob Cratchit, and then we meet the Ghost of Christmas Past, the first of the three that were promised to him. Scrooge is shown fragments from his past, invoking memories both happy and sad, and Zachariah begins to show the beginnings of Scrooge's salvation. Scrooge finally falls into his bed, exhausted by the proceedings, and sleeps, snoring loudly and, it is the interval.
Stave three opens with Scrooge waking with a prodigious snore and eventually encountering the Ghost of Christmas Present, who awakens him to all of the things happening around him that he has chosen to ignore, again both happy and sad, then Stave four brings the most sinister and frightening of all, the silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. More and more characters are brought to life through the brilliance of Zachariah, tumbling past in rapid succession, engaging in conversations with one another, and vanishing again. The shadows of what might be, terrify Scrooge. All the while we see the effect that the ghostly encounters are having on the man initially described as being flint hard and unfeeling as his heart is softened, and we hear his determination to change forthwith. Marley's warning and the revelations of the spirits have done their work.
Stave five is added to four, rather than a separate section, as we see the changes that the visits and revelations have had upon Scrooge in the course of one night. He follows up on his promise and, as Dickens tells us, "He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world." Eventually, we arrive at that most famous of closing lines, "and so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, Every one!"
This was followed by tumultuous applause, and could have easily born a couple more curtain calls. It is rare to see a production so profoundly informed and sensationally acted, that it was a pity that it only had two performances in this lead up to Christmas, the perfect time for its presentation. This was a masterful piece of theatre that captivated the audience from start to finish.
The evening did not end with the performance, though, with many of the audience remaining in the foyer to discuss the performance, and the book that inspired it, and, of course dying to speak to Philip Zachariah about the production. Watch out for his return to Adelaide, and make sure that you are in the audience next time he visits.
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