★★★★

“a heartfelt tale of legacy and healing”

You might ask if we have any room for another interpretation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. How much more is there to squeeze out of Bob Cratchit and his ensemble? Well, ZooNation’s new production of Ebony Scrooge manages to find a genuinely refreshing take, exploring grief and identity through the medium of hip hop.

Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe led the development of Ebony Scrooge as director, writer and choreographer, setting the framework of the original story against the fashion world, where Ebony reins. When she cancels Christmas to stage her best fashion show yet, the familiar trio of ghosts knock on the studio door.

The first act is the weaker of the two, as we’re slow to get into the action. There’s an animated introduction and then a narrator-led introduction, when the audience knows the beats of the story well enough to just want to get stuck in and see what this version has to offer us. Plus, the narrators disappear for long stretches, so it’s a bit jarring when they pop back in. Lindon Barr’s solo as Bob Cratchit is a highlight, mesmerisingly fluid amongst clean and crisp, but not particularly memorable, movement from the ensemble. Natalie Pryce’s costuming gives a fun, glamorous feel, and it’s impressive to watch Leah Hill pop and lock in towering platform heels, strutting around giving orders as Ebony.

We gain clearer momentum once we meet the first ghost, which is just one instance where Joanna Scotcher’s set is used in combination with lighting to enhance the movement with theatre magic. It’s frightening to see the mannequin come to life with uncanny choreography, and heed warnings from behind the gauze. The order of the ghosts has been switched, so we meet Christmas Present first, visiting Ebony’s niece Freddie at the Christmas party she’s throwing. Melissa Bravo is genuinely joyous as Freddie, her sparky movement delivered with lightness and a beaming smile, whether she’s handing out party tickets or driving a dance off. Christmas Future sees the arrival of an army of tracksuit-ed messengers, delivering the expected sombre warning with seriousness and flair.

Where the first act feels constrained by the original story, we exhale in the second half as the show expands way beyond Dickens’ building blocks and truly flies on its own. We finally meet the ghost of Christmas Past, escaping the fashion world Ebony has boxed herself into and diving into her Dominican heritage instead. There’s a beautiful fluidity to the flashback scenes which share the source of our titular characters’ grief. As the vocals fade away and the comfort of the drumbeats remains, it’s genuinely moving to watch Ebony take tentative steps towards the free flowing energy her ancestors demonstrate, and to eventually part a dance floor to reach Young Freddie. Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante’s original music skilfully taps into nostalgia here, providing ethereal arrangements evocative of classic Christmas movies.

With solid choreography and a sharp ensemble, the dancing is as accomplished as you’d expect from the ZooNation team, but the real magic happens when the movement, music and narrative fuse into something unexpectedly tender. What starts as a funky visual spectacle transforms into a heartfelt tale of legacy and healing. This is A Christmas Carol reinvented with rhythm, warmth and unmistakable soul.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL

The Other Palace

★★★

“Impressively staged, it is indeed truly fantastical.”

What started out as a bedtime story for his nine-year-old son quickly evolved into a global publishing phenomenon that outstripped the writer Rick Riordan’s dreams. A five-book series of fantasy novels was followed by two feature films, a television series and video game. In an age where you can’t turn a stone without finding a musical under it, this was the natural next step. Joe Tracz is behind the book, while Rob Rokicki has adapted Riordan’s take on the Greek myths with a high energy bolt of musical lightning, that struck Broadway in 2020 and is now lighting up London’s stage.

“The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical”, for those who don’t know (and I didn’t… I must have been living under that upturned stone), is a reimagined mash-up of the Greek myths, crash landed in the twenty-first century. Percy Jackson, a bit of a misfit who has a habit of being expelled from school, discovers he is the ‘half-blood’ son for Poseidon. While reluctantly attending a summer camp for demigods, he quickly finds himself on a dangerous quest to locate and bring back Zeus’s lost Master Bolt. Teaming up with fellow demigods, Grover and Annabeth, they go on all sorts of adventures, escaping hellhounds, furies, lotus-eaters and narrative logic. Naturally Percy returns a hero (that’s no spoiler) with the lightning bolt intact and a soaring tune full of well-worn messages.

Despite some genuinely funny moments, it takes itself rather seriously in a teen kind of way. The opening number drums into us that ‘The Gods Are Real’ without any apparent irony, as though we should be taking notes. Being normal is the real myth here. The things that make you different are the things that make you strong (read that sentence like you’re belting a rock anthem, and you get the picture). The musical numbers are delivered throughout in a storm of pizzazz, the volume turned up high and, although many numbers blend into another, the tunes have enough snap, crackle and pop to become catchy earworms. Director and choreographer, Lizzi Gee, keeps the pace fast and furious while the cast crank up the fun-factor to feverish levels.

Morgan Gregory gives a well-balanced mix of nerdiness and fearlessness to the hapless hero, Percy Jackson. Vocally cutting through the bombast of the band he skilfully takes us on his epic journey with him. Lizzy-Rose Esin-Kelly is a gutsy Annabeth, the daughter of Athena while Angus Benstead’s Grover is a nervous satyr. There is much multi-rolling within the ensemble cast, and many costume changes. Caricature invariably displaces nuance, but amid the chaos Paisley Billing, as Percy’s mother (among other characters) smooths and softens the action with her controlled performance and expressive, velvet voice.

But for the most part, there is a cartoon quality to the production in which grating tones and shouty voices dominate. It is as though our attention span is assumed to be low, with the rapid-fire, episodic progression of events that whisk us through Percy’s quest as he runs up against Gods and Monsters in equal measure. We end up feeling a little giddy but can’t really complain as it’s nothing compared to what the performers must be feeling. A whirlwind of a show, that tosses its plotlines into the tornado with so much abandon that we lose track and ultimately cease to care. Visually it is a treat, and it probably helps to be familiar with Riordan’s novels. Impressively staged, it is indeed truly fantastical. With clearer storytelling, more light and shade and more respect for the mythology, it could also be fantastic.

EBONY SCROOGE

Sadler’s Wells East

★★★★

“a heartfelt tale of legacy and healing”

EBONY SCROOGE

Sadler’s Wells East

Reviewed on 6th December 2025

by Jessica Hayes

Photography by Pamela Raith

Previously reviewed at this venue:

EBONY SCROOGE

EBONY SCROOGE

EBONY SCROOGE

THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL

The Other Palace

★★★

“Impressively staged, it is indeed truly fantastical.”