A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Alexandra Palace

★★★★

“This polished, paranormal staging rattles its chains as effectively as it warms the heart”

Christmas hasn’t always been twinkling lights and cosy fires – in Dickens’ time, ghost stories helped pass the long winter nights, a tradition cemented by ‘A Christmas Carol’. Mark Gatiss’ stage adaptation, ‘A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story’, leans into this seasonal spookiness, casting a chilling shadow across the festive favourite. Catch this show’s third run at the fittingly haunting Alexandra Palace if you fancy something darker this Christmas.

Scrooge and Marley revel in another year of ruthless debt collecting – until Marley drops dead. Fast forward seven years and Scrooge remains a miser with no care for people’s suffering. One fateful Christmas Eve, a night of supernatural encounters confronts him with the cost of his choices. Can he atone and will his redemption endure?

Gatiss’ adaptation honours Dickens’ legacy, faithfully preserving the original plot and prose while artfully reimagining it for theatre. Its more traditional feel is sharpened by the darker edge of ghostly encounters, with some playful asides adding wit and dimension to Scrooge. The conclusion stays true to Dickens, yet a satisfying twist underscores the permanence of Scrooge’s transformation and makes his ordeal all the more meaningful.

Director Adam Penford keeps the audience on edge, sustaining a haunting energy with slick stagecraft and well timed jump scares softened by moments of wit and affection. Towering, oppressive set pieces dominate with meticulous blocking ensuring clarity throughout. Smart use of the stage apron adds dynamism in the large space, and video projections cleverly augment the set.

Georgina Lamb’s movement direction injects bursts of merriment, with choreographed sequences adding welcome dynamism between darker passages. These moments not only heighten contrast but soften the focus on Scrooge, giving the production greater texture and variety.

Tingying Dong’s score demonstrates effortless range, shifting from deliciously eerie moments to bursts of Christmas cheer. The choral section is a particularly effective touch, bringing Scrooge into the fold.

Paul Wills’ impressive design brims with symbolism. Towering filing cabinets echo Scrooge’s isolation while his elevated desk reflects self perceived superiority. The stark bleakness of Scrooge’s office and Victorian streets are sharp contrast to the warmth of the Christmas scenes, creating a visual journey that underscores the character’s transformation. John Bulleid’s illusion design delivers clever sleight of hand and well timed jump scares, conjuring a genuinely haunted atmosphere. Philip Gladwell’s inventive lighting design dazzles, blending an array of effects to bring maximum drama. Ella Wahlström’s sound design perfectly captures a freezing Victorian Christmas, seamlessly layering whipping wind, clanging clocks and spectral sounds. Nina Dunn’s video design evokes the texture of real life London. Matthew Forbes’s puppet design extends the otherworldly feel but could benefit from deeper integration. The dog is undeniably charming despite its curious lack of hindlegs, while the ghost children are truly creepy.

This strong cast features famous faces. Neil Morrissey brings a lighter touch to Marley, sputtering comically to death before returning with a far more haunting presence. Matthew Cottle shines as Scrooge, capturing the frosty miser while subtly suggesting the man beneath. His performance blossoms into a more nuanced portrayal of redemption, avoiding the pitfall of manic exaggeration. The ensemble handles their multi roling with skill, shifting accents and characterisations with ease. The slightly echoey acoustics demand clearer diction at times, especially when employing accents.

‘A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story’ offers a darker take on the Christmas classic. This polished, paranormal staging rattles its chains as effectively as it warms the heart, making the trip to Alexandra Palace well worth the journey.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Alexandra Palace

Reviewed on 26th November 2025

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Mark Douet

Previously reviewed at this venue:

NORTH BY NORTHWEST | ★★★★ | June 2025

BIRDSONG | ★★★ | February 2025

AN INSPECTOR CALLS | ★★★★ | September 2024

THE GLASS MENAGERIE | ★★★★ | May 2024

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY | ★★★★ | November 2023

TREASON THE MUSICAL | ★★★ | November 2023

A Christmas Carol

★★★★★

“It all builds to a delightfully satisfying panto-esque cacophony of characters”

With only three actors on a tiny (but intricate) set, Abigail Pickard Price’s magical adaptation of David Copperfield somehow brings an entire Dickensian universe to life, deliciously populated with a stream of vibrant characters, the requisite plot twists, and an attention to detail that would make Charles Dickens proud.

As a young David Copperfield (Eddy Payne) flees his stern and violent stepfather to seek his way in the world, Neil Irish’s masterfully evocative set and costumes bring us inside law offices, outside onto small village streets, and even into the sea and along its rocky shore with no more than a cleverly placed piece of fabric here, or a stackable trunk there. Together with the soundscape (Matt Eaton), lighting (Mark Dymock), and movement direction, the overall design seamlessly journeys from place to place and character to character. Each scene change is more creative and surprising than the next – and yet never distracts from the story’s momentum.

The acting is exemplary – every character is finely drawn and a tribute to Dickens’ imagination and keen observations of human nature. Louise Beresford morphs from cunning villain to cocky scoundrel to radiant love interest without a glitch. Luke Barton brings utterly absorbing heart and individuality to each of his nine characters. The verbosity and geniality of his Mr. Micawber in particular is a tour-de-force in itself. The dizzying spin of characters is anchored by Payne’s earnest and endearing David Copperfield.

Amy Lawrence’s movement direction is outstanding: whether leaping from boulder to boulder or riding in a carriage or – most impressively, being beaten by the fearsome Mr. Murdstone (who is hauntingly represented by a large brown top hat and empty coat) – the movement is so precise and believable that the audience becomes willing conspirators with the ensemble, suspending our disbelief and diving headfirst into this brightly painted world. What must have taken hours of disciplined rehearsal looks effortless and fun to us.

It all builds to a delightfully satisfying panto-esque cacophony of characters represented by hats and puppets and actors alike, made possible by the extremely well-oiled transitions these gifted actors have perfected.

To condense a Dickens novel of epic proportions into a two hour play on a miniscule stage is no small feat, and this production is anything but small. In her adaptation, Pickard Price expertly selects the most salient of the many details the book offers, and as a director, she squeezes every juicy morsel out of her talented team to create something that is bursting with fun and colour. Go see it. It is the perfect antidote to the long grey winter that is upon us.

Tag Archives: Charles Dickens

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

★★★★

Alexandra Palace

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Alexandra Palace

★★★★

“This polished, paranormal staging rattles its chains as effectively as it warms the heart”