a christmas carol at the old vic, bristol…

Moira and I spent a rather lovely afternoon at the Bristol Old Vic seeing Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (adapted by Tom Morris and directed by Lee Lyford)… a very good way to see the old year ‘out’! An added bonus for us was that son-in-law Felix Hayes was playing Scrooge – and he was bloomin’ good! I’ve just been reading some of the press reviews and every single one of them praises Felix to the hilt (the word ‘magnificent’ is used on a couple of occasions - and very justifiably in my view).
He was indeed very, very impressive.
Everyone knows the story of ‘A Christmas Carol’, but I was intrigued as to how they would ‘play’ it. Would it follow traditional lines in terms of ‘set’ and adaptation? Well, I think they succeeded quite brilliantly in virtually all respects. The set was skeletal (scaffolding!), dark and somewhat Gothic (definitely not ‘chocolate box’ Victorian London!) and with a hint of a rather menacing city environment. But the performance was also full of mirth, fun (not to mention audience participation!). The story starts in a depressing monochrome world which gradually unfolds into a riot of colour and celebration. The performance was accompanied by lively, evocative ‘steampunk music’ which (I have to say), on occasions, I found a little intrusive (sometimes drowning out some of the dialogue – or maybe that’s just my own deteriorating hearing!?). But hey, it’s Christmas/New Year and we can forgive such things!
Strangely (you might think!), I also found the story quite moving… and a real echo of the world today – the world of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’, the world in which it’s all too easy to discount the poor, the homeless, the refugee, the migrant.
Scrooge’s sad life of missed opportunities and lost loves… and his discovery that generosity is the key to human happiness.
A simple, powerful message that we, oh so definitely, need today!
I loved the production - and the full house and the vibrant atmosphere within the foyer and the theatre itself was a powerful testament to the beauty, anticipation and value of live performance.
Happy Happy New Year!
PS: Members of the cast merged into the audience towards the end (Moira+I were sitting in the stalls - and I was at the end of a row)… Felix duly approached me from behind to encourage a response and got a ‘bit of a shock’ to discover that the old geazer in question was his bloomin’ father-in-law! Naturally, he was very keen to introduce me to the audience (oh cor blimey!)… hey ho (oh how we laughed!)!