BWW Reviews: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, the Lion and Unicorn Theatre, December 16, 2010

There are times when a visit to the theatre transports you to a world of sheer magic. One of those magical journeys awaits audience members in the Giant Olive Theatre Company production of A Christmas Carol at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town this holiday season.

Dickens' timeless classic Christmas morality tale, adapted by Piers Beckley, has been given a new twist and invested with new raw energy in this production in which a genuine international cast present the piece as if it were a staging by students at the International School in Jerusalem. Director Ray Shell and choreographer Donna King have created a world of total theatre, with ingenious use of the theatre's tiny space, dispensing with a conventional set and allowing the actors to convey the concept of time, space and action with highly effective use of some chairs and brilliantly effective vocal sound effects. The audience is drawn into this world from the very start and held there throughout as the narrative moves seamlessly along - with the perfect blend of humour, melodrama and pathos. And the theatrical atmosphere is further enhanced by the use of carols and music sung and performed by members of the cast, in various languages, all of which has been harmonised, orchestrated and supervised by musical director Joe Sterling (who also sings beautifully and contributes greatly with some exemplary guitar work) in a way that is highly evocative and totally apposite to the needs of the action.

There is not a single weak link amongst the cast of 21 actors, singers and musicians, who hold the entire piece together with their exuberance, credibility and considerable performance skills. And they are led from the front by a tour de force performance by Peter Gerald as Scrooge and ably supported in particular by Ross Ericson as Bob Cratchitt, Max Warrick as both the young and ghostly Jacob Marley, Michelle Yim as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Becky Pennick as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Nicola Hollinshead in the dual roles of Mrs Cratchitt and a charwoman.

There are, of course, no helicopters on stage, no hi-tech projections or spectacular sets - just incredibly talented actors in the hands of a clever director. It is theatre at its simplest. And it is simply brilliant.