Writer: Charles Dickens

Director: Rachel O’Riordan

Composer/Musical Director: Connor Mitchell

Reviewer: Richard Hall

The Public Reviews Rating:

The Library Theatre can always be relied upon to offer a popular alternative to pantomime and this year they have chosen probably one of the most famous Christmas stories of all, A Christmas Carol. Directed by Rachel O’Riordan, responsible for a number of acclaimed Library Theatre productions, including last year’s hit Grimm Tales, A Christmas Carol is a welcome addition to other family friendly shows currently being performed in Manchester for the Festive season.

An ensemble cast of ten, play a variety of well known roles and work extremely hard to bring these to life and also to make Dickens’s familiar words sound fresh and new. The theme of social injustice, with constant reminders of the starving poor presented in tableaux, is at the heart of this production, which remains faithful throughout to Dickens’ original text.

Played out on Gary McCann’s stunning set, dominated by two giant Victorian staircases, the production imaginatively introduces a variety of settings including Scrooge’s bedroom and the Fezziwig’s Christmas party. The use of video projection is very effective in underlying the darker aspects of the story, particularly Scrooge’s confrontation with the three Spirits of Christmas.

There is much to commend about this production. In particular the Library Theatre’s production values appear to have benefited from the move to a larger theatre which bodes well for when the Company settles into its new shared building in three years time. In spite of the wonderful set, David Holman’s terrific adaptation and a great supporting cast, I came away from The Lowry however, feeling disappointed that my high expectations for this production had only partly been met.

A production of A Christmas Carol relies heavily on the central performance of the actor playing Ebenezer Scrooge. David Beames who plays Scrooge in this production is a fine actor but he never fully gets to grips with the desolate, wretched nature of the character and as such his journey of discovery and repentance is largely a hollow and unconvincing one. Only in the last minutes of the production does his performance begin to connect with the actors around him and the audience.

It is terrific in this age of soundtracks to hear live music performed in a theatre. For the most part, Connor Mitchell’s music is very effective in underscoring key dramatic moments but the choral arrangements of traditional carols are discordant, tuneless and totally out of keeping with the spirit of Dickens’ novel. It is a shame that when so much about this production is right that this aspect jars and becomes a source of irritation.

A Christmas Carol may not be one of the Library Theatre’s better Christmas shows but it is certainly still worth going to see and in doing so you will be supporting one of Manchester’s most exciting and vibrant theatre Companies in its new temporary home.

Runs until Saturday 8 January.

Tags: A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Connor Mitchell, Gary McCann, Rachel O’Riordan, The Library Theatre, The Lowry