It’s never promising when a production threatens to be overwhelmed by its own logistics. Yet for all the enjoyment to be found in Ellie Jones’s promenade staging of Neil Bartlett’s faithful Dickens adaptation, the fact that audience members are required to stand, in often cold and cramped spaces, for nigh on two hours, with no place to deposit bags and coats, is likely to leave even the most Fezziwig-spirited theatregoer reaching for a tin of Bah! Humbugs.
Get past the backache and poor sightlines, and there’s much to savour, as the 28‑strong ensemble — eight principal actors and 20 spirited members of the local community — lead us through a series of dankly atmospheric vaults, as we accompany Scrooge (David Fielder, who moves niftily from hunched to hopping) on his journey to redemption.
Jones cleverly integrates her audience into the scenes, which means that we become frightened clerks cowering over desks in Scrooge’s office, or extra guests at the Cratchits’ Christmas table. With greater attention to practicalities, this would be a prize turkey-shaped treat.
Charles Dickens' A Chritmas Carol
Southwark Playhouse
Shipwright Yard, corner of Tooley Street and Bermondsey Street, London Bridge,, London, SE1 2TF
