Tag Archives: Alexandra Palace Theatre

Peter Forbes as Marley and Keith Allen as Scrooge in Mark Gatiss’ A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story

★★★★

Alexandra Palace Theatre

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY at Alexandra Palace Theatre

★★★★

Peter Forbes as Marley and Keith Allen as Scrooge in Mark Gatiss’ A Christmas Carol

“The icing on the (Christmas) cake is Paul Wills’ set”

You might think that an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” by Mark Gatiss, whose credits include ‘The League of Gentlemen’, ‘Little Britain’, ‘Inside No. 9’, ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Doctor Who’, would have an off-the-wall, surreal quality to it. To an extent you would be right, but overall Gatiss remains remarkably faithful to the original. Of course, there are surprises, twists and quirky humour, but also a profound respect for Dickens’ storytelling, and a forceful reminder that Dickens himself subtitled his novella ‘Being a Ghost Story of Christmas’.

Fittingly it opened just in time for Halloween at the Nottingham Playhouse, before sleighing into town for the run up to Christmas. Alexandra Palace, with its flaking façade and decaying Victorian grandeur, is the perfect setting. A touch too cavernous perhaps, which weakens the intimacy, but director Adam Penford’s production is aiming high for the cinematic scope of the supernatural. And in that he certainly delivers. Ella Wahlström’s surround sound could have come straight from the Dolby Laboratories, while Philip Gladwell’s lighting creates a vast spectrum of moods. The icing on the (Christmas) cake is Paul Wills’ set: an alternative, ramshackle, Victorian nightmare crowded with towering filing cabinets and desks, slickly rotating to reveal the cobbled streets, the graveyards, or the coal-fired warmth of family parlous.

The tale opens with a kind of prologue. Whereas Dickens’ famous opening lines describes Marley as being ‘dead as a doornail’, here we meet Marley very much alive. Albeit very briefly, before snuffing it, and then we flash forward seven years into more familiar territory. Keith Allen’s Scrooge is a bit of a bruiser, with a gentleman’s whiskers, unkempt enough to betray his miserly attitudes to all and sundry – including himself. Allen has an eye for detail, and we see in his facial expressions a boyish vulnerability beneath the thuggishness. His redemption is triggered more by fear than a deep-rooted desire to do right. Indeed, Marley’s ghost is a powerful figure in Peter Forbe’s hands; a booming personality that needs the thick mass of chains to restrain him. The three spirits of past present and future are not so spine-chilling, yet all bewitching in their own distinctive way. Particularly Joe Shire as the Ghost of Christmas Present – a throned, genie-like wizard with enough charisma to shake the loose change from the hardiest skinflint’s pockets.

“Whisps of ghosts fly above our heads as spectral carriages soar past the bell tower”

The human factor is a touch lacking, however, and our hearts are not always tugged sufficiently. It is the atmosphere that drives the piece rather than true emotion. Some chinks let sentiment flicker through, such as Tiny Tim’s deathbed scene. When Scrooge asks if these visions are the ‘shadows of things that will be, or the shadows of things that may be’, we do feel a quiver of feeling, but otherwise the true spirit is largely hidden behind the spectacle.

And a spectacle it is. Whisps of ghosts fly above our heads as spectral carriages soar past the bell tower. John Bulleid’s illusions, with Nina Dunn’s video design and Georgina Lamb’s choreography create a magical world that fills the vast, sepulchral space. For much of the time, though, we feel closer to Halloween than to Christmas, until the closing moments when the cast assemble into a Christmas Card tableau. A rousing ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ with gorgeous harmonies precedes a return to the narrator. Throughout, Geoffrey Beevers weaves a narrative thread that allows much of Dickens’ poetic language and humour to shine; into which Gatiss has thrown in a nice twist for good measure.

In the 1843 publication, Charles Dickens wrote in his preface that he has “endeavoured in this Ghostly little book to raise the Ghost of an idea”. Nearly two centuries later this ghost of an idea has grown into a seasonal favourite. Gatiss has added a few ghosts of his own that can only reinforce the longevity of such a classic. A haunting tale indeed, but still traditional enough to immerse us in the Christmas spirit.


A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY at Alexandra Palace Theatre

Reviewed on 29th November 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Manuel Harlan

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Treason The Musical | ★★★ | November 2023
Bugsy Malone | ★★★★★ | December 2022

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol

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Treason

Treason the Musical

★★★

Alexandra Palace

TREASON THE MUSICAL at Alexandra Palace Theatre

★★★

Treason the Musical

“The show is visually stunning, Jason Taylor’s lighting taking centre stage in the vast auditorium while Philip Witcomb’s looming, slatted set opens and closes to successively release and confine the protagonists”

Just as the fireworks are beginning to die down across London, the new musical “Treason” blasts into town on a wave of publicity that casts its fire glow across the rooftops of N22. The light is thrown on a handful of the conspirators who planned to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5th November 1505. It is a day that everybody “remember remembers” even if the detail is buried in the archives. “Treason the Musical” presents us with some of the background which, like the real events, gets a bit lost behind the celebration of the occasion.

We all know Guido ‘Guy’ Fawkes who was hanged for his part in the failed gunpowder plot (no – he wasn’t burned on a bonfire), but – be honest now – who can name the others? It was, perhaps, Robert Catesby (impressively played here by Connor Jones) who masterminded the scheme, spurred on after King James the First backtracked on his promise of greater religious tolerance towards the English Catholics. A reluctant recruit was Thomas Percy, and it is the relationship between Thomas and his wife Martha that dominates much of the story. Guy Fawkes is given the role of narrator, distancing himself from the action while filling us in with the details. It is a neat device, successfully pulled off by the writers Charli Eglinton and Kieran Lynn; but the credit surely goes to Gabriel Akamo who commands the space as Guy Fawkes. With booming voice and charisma, he laments his fame, decrying his status as scapegoat, all the while commenting and directing. It is Akamo who opens and closes the show, instructing us to “remember me”. We would like to see more of his presence in between and sometimes long for him to step down into the throng.

Leading the ensemble are Sam Ferriday and Nicole Raquel Dennis as the newlyweds Thomas and Martha Percy. Ferriday and Dennis form a dynamic duo. No sooner are they married than are wrenched apart as Thomas goes off to “fix things” for the Catholic cause. Jones’ formidable Catesby has recruited him into the gang, along with Robin and Timothy Wintour (Alfie Richards and Lewis Edgar) and Jack Wright (Kyle Cox). All are exceptional singers, with breath-taking harmonic skill in the rousing ensemble numbers, and a controlled, emotive power in their solo numbers and duos. Of which there are plenty. Ferriday and Dennis again shine when they come together in song. Another one to watch for is Emilie Louise Israel – as the peripheral, though striking character, Anne Vaux – whose voice and personality cuts through the chorus to grab our attention.

“This show lights the blue touch paper but again the real explosion eludes us”

On the other side of the fence is Joe McFadden’s King James. Arrogant but a bit dim, McFadden initially plays him for laughs. He is not the villain, as his descent into paranoia manifests itself in the second act, but manipulated by Oscar Conlon-Morrey’s more reprehensible, yet comedic, Robert Cecil who historically uncovered the gunpowder plot (though in this production it is somewhat unclear how or when the whistle was blown and by whom). All the principal players are buoyed by the ensemble, giving justice to Ricky Allan’s anthemic score.

The show is visually stunning, Jason Taylor’s lighting taking centre stage in the vast auditorium while Philip Witcomb’s looming, slatted set opens and closes to successively release and confine the protagonists. There is often an ecclesiastical feel, which does pour over into the narrative, resulting in the show feeling a bit like a sermon in places. The emotions run high, but we often feel it comes from the pulpit rather than from the heart. The overall austere approach is a touch at odds with the attempted quirkiness, and at times the echoes of ‘Les Misérables’ clash with those of ‘Hamilton’.

In 1605 the gunpowder plot failed in its mission. This show lights the blue touch paper but again the real explosion eludes us. There are definite sparks, though, within the plot and between the characters that reach us and make us fizzle momentarily. They say not to return to a firework that doesn’t go off. “Treason the Musical” invites us to ignore that safety rule and we are tempted to give it another go to see if it can find its true light.


TREASON THE MUSICAL at Alexandra Palace Theatre

Reviewed on 9th November 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Danny Kaan

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Bugsy Malone | ★★★★★ | December 2022

Treason the Musical

Treason the Musical

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