Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Old Vic Theatre

The Old Vic has established Matthew Warchus' version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol as one of London's must-see festive shows. Since 2017 audiences have been welcomed with mince pies and satsumas and showered with snow and parachuting sprouts.

The classic tale of ghostly visitations, a cautioning against meanness of spirit and eventual salvation is endlessly adapted at this time of year, but there remains something irresistibly charming about this adaptation.

This year it's the turn of Emmy Award-winner Christopher Eccleston to don the tatty pink overcoat as Ebenezer Scrooge. Gruff and grizzled, with a head of hair that hasn't seen a comb for years, Eccleston is an erudite and well spoken Scrooge; abrupt and surly, he is lacking a little in the sharp cruelty necessary to initially despise the character. A particularly poignant moment in the show is when Scrooge embraces his younger self as he wishes that he had not become the man he is; Eccleston brings bittersweet emotion to this scene and his subsequent delight in the new dawn of Christmas is infectious.

There are many actors retruning to the show: Rose Shalloo is sweetly earnest as Little Fan, Alistair Parker is always a wonderfully ebullient Fezziwig and Andrew Langtree is suitably awful as Scrooge's father.

New to the show is Rob Compton, who is a very likable Bob Cratchit, with a lovely chemistry with Casey-Indigo Blackwood-Lashley (one of four young actors in the role), who returns to the role as an adorable Tiny Tim .

Frances McNamee is a wise and grounded Belle; her conversation with Scrooge on Christmas morning where they speak of the past feels quietly sincere and believable. 

Little has changed in the staging of the show; Hugh Vanstone's lighting remains magical with its use of multiple lanterns and atmospheric flickers and shadows. Rob Howell's striped down set adds to the Victorian atmosphere, with particularly good use of empty door frames that rise and fall back into the stage.

Music remains a huge draw to the production and Christopher Nightingale's arrangement combines classic Victorian carols, along with building spooky atmosphere and joyful parties where appropriate. The bellringing is also a true delight, performed beautifully by the cast.

In a year where you may be ever-more careful about where you spend your festive theatre pounds, the Old Vic's A Christmas Carol is reliably magical; full of joy and spectacle, whether it is your first visit or your seventh.

A Christmas Carol is at the Old Vic until 6 January 2024

Photo Credits: Manuel Harlan