Thursday 7 January 2016

Review: A Christmas Carol

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol wasn't originally on my list for the theatre marathon, but due to The Dazzle being sold-out I decided to get tickets to A Christmas Carol. I am so glad I went to see this show! I was really excited to see Jim Broadbent and I wasn't disappointed. The show features only a cast of 5, all of whom are brilliant! The show stars Jim Broadbent as Ebenezer Scrooge, Adeel Akhtar as Bob Cratchit, Marley and Young Scrooge, Amelia Bullmore as Hermione Bentham, Ghost of Christmas Past, Constance, Mrs. Cratchit and Mother, Keir Charles as Frederick, Mr. Grimes, Mr. Fezziwig, George and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and Samantha Spiro as Mrs. Lack, Lavinia Bentham, Mrs. Grimes, Fran, Isabella, Ghost of Christmas Present and Maid. The show includes puppetry which I think was amazingly done and I think the best puppet was Tiny Tim. The set and costumes were really good. The decision to just have 5 cast members was very clever and it worked very well. The show was both comical and emotional. The special effects were great and I thought they had a good use of props. I especially like the flying legs! It's a well written adaption and it still had the charm of the classic. I had seen the musical Scrooge in 2012, but I felt A Christmas Carol was better. I think this is mainly due to Jim Broadbent's stunning performance. I do think if I were the director I would have changed a few things. I personally wasn't too keen on the ending as it seemed a bit rushed. It didn't seem to catch the emotional moment of Scrooge turning from a bitter old man into a kind gentleman. I also wasn't keen on the fact that they made it a play within a play. A lot of shows seem to be doing that nowadays (Harlequinade, The Play That Goes Wrong, The Importance of Being Earnest, etcetera, etcetera) and I think the show would've still been great without using this.

The featured star of A Christmas Carol is, drum roll please... JIM BROADBENT!


Jim was phenomenal in the role! He put so much energy and emotion into the role. He was perfectly casted and I hope he will be back in the West End soon.

Now for my final verdict on A Christmas Carol. I give A Christmas Carol... 


A Christmas Carol was amazing! I am so glad I went along and I urge all Jim Broadbent fans to see this great show.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Sadly this is the end of the theatre marathon. After A Christmas Carol I finished my theatre marathon with The Lion King (which I reviewed back in May) that was amazing as always. I have been to see some incredible shows and I am truly blessed to have been able to do the theatre marathon. Join me next time when I will be reviewing Hadley Fraser at the Orange Tree Theatre.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer

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