‘A Christmas Carol’ has become almost as much a part of the Christmas Season as pantomimes, with numerous TV, film and stage versions coming round each year, each almost invariably set in Charles Dickens’ Victorian London (not even the Muppet showed dared to change that!). A rare exception was a BBC contemporary version based around ‘Eastenders’. David Thakers’ adaptation took a bold a change in emphasis, with the story remaining true to Dicken’s tale but told from the perspective of a homeless person, and with a Northern Irish accent!
One of the pleasures of seeing productions at The Kings Arms is that both the performance area and seating layout changes with virtually every production and here again, the staging for ‘A Christmas Carol’ took a fresh direction with the seating set out in a café format, complete with all the tables having tablecloths and a small table light. The look of a café was completed with sophisticated dim lighting which was subject to only subtle changes throughout the performance. In contrast to this gentile environment was a central block on which the narrator lay asleep under a sleeping bag. The symbolism was stark between those who had, as the audience watched on, and he who had not, asleep in front of them.
The Proud Chorus choir were loudly singing carols as the audience congregated, continuing with a couple more songs once everyone was assembled. How the central figure continued to sleep with the volume they produced was a mystery and once they departed, the homeless sleeper, played by Colin Connor woke up and after staring around the room in a somewhat bewildered state, started his narrative.
The one-man show typically involves the actor moving around the stage to some degree, sometimes using props but David Thacker’s direction took this a stage further with Colin Connor making full use of the entire auditorium.
Much of the narrative was performed on and around the central block but Connor would frequently move amongst the audience, on occasion engaging directly with individuals (but never in any obtrusive manner). What really stood out was the extent to which this device was used to help the audience engage with their imagination. For example, in an early scene, Scrooge was looking out of a window, when in fact Connor was actually looking at a mirror but it worked and other instances like this helped the audience feel they were being carried along as the three spirits took Scrooge on a journey to visit his past, present and future.
This was very much a one-man play as opposed to just narrative story telling. Connor presented himself in the character of the narrating homeless man but through the course of the story played 33 other characters. The range of voices, from high-pitched Tiny Tim to the abrasive Jacob Marley to the ebullient Ghost of Christmas Present was impressive but what really made everything come alive was the level of performance. Scrooge was shown to display real terror, with no small amount of physicality so that Colin Connor needed not just to keep changing voices in quick succession but come in and out of physical performance.
This was in essence a faithful adaptation of the famous Dickens story but given a fresh, modern perspective as a reminder that the poor and needy are still with us. This point was given added emphasis with the production supporting the Mustard Tree homeless charity and the George Trust HIV charity.
A vibrant and interesting take of a popular story, powerfully performed with creative use of the venue.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
On - 9.12.2025
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