A Christmas Carol review: ‘masterful telling of a tale that never feels dated’

Towards the end of Elf The Musical at the Dominion Theatre I was covered in soapy fake snow. At the end of A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic I was drenched in it. Twice.

Premiering in 2017 with Rhys Ifans as Ebenezer Scrooge, Jack Thorne’s take on the Charles Dickens classic has subsequently starred Stephen Tompkinson, Andrew Lincoln (via live broadcast during lockdown), and Stephen Mangan. And it’s now as much a part of the festive season as mulled wine, mince pies and Brussels sprouts.

There’s no free wine as you enter the auditorium but the Victorian-garbed ushers hand out mice pies to all and sundry and in the second act sprouts float down from the ceiling on tiny parachutes. Spuds, apples, and oranges are also sent from the upper circle to the stage via linen chutes as a huge turkey swings on a rope, narrowly missing Scrooge’s head as he prepares a Christmas feast for employees and workers.

You couldn’t wish for a more heartwarming end to a yuletide theatre visit, complete with bell-ringers and a chorus jauntily singing ‘Joy to the World’. It’s the light at the end of a dark tunnel as this most hard-bitten of businessmen is shown the error of his miserly ways by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

Owen (Game of Thrones) Teale is Scrooge this time round and he’s superb. He starts out like a grizzly bear – snarling at his clerk Bob Cratchit, growling at a noisy dog, barking at a bunch of carol singers – before gradually transforming into a gentle giant. The actor finds the humanity in a man who is often played as a monster so that when he declares “I love Christmas!’ after a lifetime of loathing it the sentiment feels gloriously heartfelt.

Thorne has made a few tweaks to Dickens’ original; Scrooge’s father, shown in flashbacks, is an alcoholic and the ghosts are female. But the spookiness of the story and the resonance of its message that, as one character puts it, “Those with can afford to support those without” ring loud and clear.

The production itself is miraculous, serving up such unforgettable sights as Scrooge’s deceased business partner Jacob Marley slithering along the runway stage with a seemingly endless train of chains. Hugh Vanstone’s lighting evokes dangerous alleyways and haunted houses and Matthew Warchus’s direction is nimble and purposeful, with no fat on its bones.

If there’s not a dry eye in the house at the end it’s not because of that soapy snow getting in your peepers, it’s because of the masterful telling of a tale that never feels dated. Dickens wrote it in part as a plea for charity toward the poor. At the end of the performance, the audience is encouraged to donate to City Harvest, which delivers free food to families in need across the capital. I’m sure the author would be proud to know his 1843 novella was still inspiring people to open their hearts and purses.

Rating: 5/5

A Christmas Carol is at the Old Vic, London, until 7 January. For tickets click here.