A Christmas Carol

Jim Broadbent is on our TV screens in War And Peace and gives a mesmerising stage performance as Scrooge
Sam-Taylor-colour-176It’s possible that some of us might have reached the point of Bah, Humbug at the mere sight of the word ‘Christmas’. Which would be a shame because the chance to see the Oscar-winning Jim Broadbent throwing himself into the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, that most complex of Dickensian characters, is worth overcoming any amount of post-festive ennui.

The writer, Patrick Barlow, who gifted the West End a 10-year run with his four-person adaption of The 39 Steps, has known Broadbent for 35 years and wrote the part specifically for him. The result is a beguiling mix of a play within a play, part panto, part dramatic licence with the original story; but nothing too upsetting for purists.

It remains, as always, a story of redemption. Of a lost soul brought into the light by the realisation that a trunk full of gold can’t buy you happiness. Broadbent plays the part for laughs and yet maintains the act of a sad pathetic creature whose own past is as damaged as any of his desperately poor creditors.

Amelia Bullmore and Samantha Spiro manage to play the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, as well as a couple of do-gooding charity collectors and Scrooge’s lost love with spirited aplomb – and full tribute to the wardrobe department. I only noticed the pair’s dexterous role playing after reading the programme.

Much of the evening’s enjoyment is enhanced by Tom Pye’s set design, the stage framed by a Victorian theatre surround that helps support the room shifts and flying mechanics. Yes, Scrooge and his ghostly visitors do fly – it’s that kind of production. Their full-sized bodies carried aloft over the streets of London on whirring puppet-like legs. Trust me, just like the fake snow, the puppets that stand in for the Cratchit family, the younger version of Scrooge, the striking images of the grindingly poor gathered on Kennington Common and the dramatic light sequences in this daring production, the flying works.

Until 30 January, Noël Coward Theatre, London WC2: 0844-482 5141, www.noelcowardtheatre.co.uk