SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL

Leicester Square Theatre

★★★★

“chaotic and gloriously daft”

If there was a drunk actor on the stage in any other production, it would be an ugly cautionary tale about the perils of fame. But in A Pissedmas Carol, it’s contractually obligated. Sh!t-faced Showtime bring us the classic tale of miserable Scrooge’s redemption forced by paranormal visitors on Christmas Eve, spiced up with the addition of copious amounts of alcohol. It’s just one actor in the cast who gets inebriated, leaving the rest to respond to the chaos and push the drunkard onto his marks, with predictably hilarious results. In our case, it was Ashley Gerlach as Scrooge, who complained about how loud the singing was, squared up to Bob Cratchit and asked where the mandem was when he arrived at his old school.

Written by Lewis Ironside and adapted for the stage by James Murfitt, this production holds firmly to the pillars of Dickens’ tale. The key characters are all here, and chunks of the original script are attempted, with obvious interruptions and digressions from our tipsy player. Lucy Fowler’s costuming is committed to the original era, with the women donning bonnets and the men waistcoats, all of which only serves to make the bumbling Scrooge’s antics and confusion funnier. When he suddenly complains that his Victorian nightgown doesn’t have pockets, it triggers a hilarious argument as others beg him to please just act like there are. The ghost of Jacob Marley is adorned with the expected shackles and chains, but still poked fun at by way of the two poorly disguised actors draped in black whose job it is to wave the chains spookily in the air behind him.

The Victorian story and setting are hit with all the non-negotiable decorations of festive theatre. There’s audience interaction – one attendee has to ring a set of bells if they feel the actor needs another drink, and another gets a sick bucket. There’s bawdy humour and innuendos, but it stays the right side of eye-roll-inducing. And of course, there are copious Christmas songs. It’s all very silly and the atmosphere is generously lively. There are a few lazier parts which rely on pantomime tropes, which just don’t feel necessary when the cast is as charming and competent as they are. The show really can be bothered, so it leaves the drunk actor free to just be funny and curious and incendiary. Even the lighting and Nicola Jones’ set design says: this is a real show with budget! Get drunk with us!

The only reason watching a drunk actor can be this funny though, is if they are propped up by a genuinely talented and quick-witted cast, directed by Katy Baker. There are solid comic performances from Hal Hillman and Daniel Quirke, with Daniel in particular getting huge laughs in solo scenes as Mrs. Fezziwig and the child who picks Scrooge’s turkey. Musical director Charlotte Brooke holds everything down on the piano at the back of the stage, constantly adapting to soundtrack the show as it stumbles about, so that the audience really can just sit back and enjoy the chaos. Vocals are largely led by Issy Wroe Wright and Alice Merivale, who flip from ghostly operatic lullabies to the Wham! crooner with impressive range. The whole debacle is kept in check by a sequin-suited Dickens who acts as a ringmaster when things get really off the rails.

If you’ve never heard of A Christmas Carol, this would be a truly terrible way to introduce yourself to Dickens’ genuinely moving story of redemption and community. But if, like me, you’ve seen a thousand iterations of the story, and can sing all the ensemble parts in the Muppet version, then this might be the only production that holds something new for you. It’s chaotic and gloriously daft – you’ll be laughing about it long after last orders.

SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL

Leicester Square Theatre

Reviewed on 11th December 2025

by Jessica Hayes

Photography by Andrew AB Photography

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SH!T-FACED A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM | ★★★★ | July 2024

RACHEL PARRIS: POISE | ★★★★ | June 2024

SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL | ★★★★★ | November 2023

THE AYES HAVE IT! THE AYES HAVE IT! | ★★★★ | November 2023

SH!T-FACED SHAKESPEARE®: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★★★ | July 2023

SHIT-FACED SHAKESPEARE: ROMEO & JULIET | ★★★★ | July 2022

A PISSEDMAS CAROL | ★★★★★ | December 2021

SH!T-FACED MACBETH | ★★★★★ | July 2021

SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME

★★★★★

“bountiful instances of quick-witted, gleeful silliness”

Audiences are a voyeuristic bunch – from found-footage horror films to The Play That Goes Wrong, there is a proven appetite for watching things where what’s being shown feels like it shouldn’t be seen. So it’s no surprise that Magnificent Bastard Productions have struck gold with their format in which they get one of their actors drunk and have to roll with whatever punches they throw during the show. They’ve found success with both Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare and Sh*t-Faced Showtime previously, and that can now be counted as a triumvirate of triumphs with their new festive show, A Pissedmas Carol.

A Pissedmas Carol follows the plot of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol with a cast of five and a script by Lewis Ironside. Or it intends to follow the plot, anyway, although the actor who’d got through two beers, a shot of vegan Baileys, and two thirds of a bottle of Captain Morgans over the course of four hours preceding the show lobbed most of the script out the window. The rules set out by the show’s MC (who incidentally, was Charles Dickens – played with adorable joviality by Will Seaward) dictate that whatever that actor chooses to do, the others must improvise around it. With a group of exceptional improvisers such as this, such a format leads to boundless hilarity. Once this performance’s drunk actor Daniel Quirke chooses to lick a castmate’s nose as a greeting, it becomes a running gag throughout the show, and when Quirke changes the ending of the story on the fly by putting Scrooge in a coma for forty years, the change is embraced fully by the other actors. The fundamental rule of improv – always say yes – is taken very seriously, which results in bountiful instances of quick-witted, gleeful silliness.

The improv and alcohol-heavy nature of the show could very easily lead to wearisome indulgence in the performances, but thankfully there is a keen awareness from the cast, as well as clear measures to ensure the experience is always firmly centred around audience enjoyment – the MC will sometimes usher things along, or Charlotte Brooke’s piano accompaniment will lead the scenes forward. The audience are also invited to deepen the chaos, as select members are able to put another drink in the inebriated actor’s hand when they so wish. By the end of the show, Quirke had got through a further three beers, which kept the voyeuristic excitement ramping up.

As mentioned, the performances are roundly excellent, and the fun that these actors are clearly having on stage with each other permeates through to the audience. They capitalise on every unexpected comic opportunity, with James Murfitt as Scrooge and Katy Baker (who also directed) as the Ghost of Christmas Past standing out in a scene where – thanks to Quirke’s machinations – their rendition of ‘Walking in the Air’ as they flew to the past brought on reams of laughter. That’s not the only song either – A Pissedmas Carol features a host of Christmas classics, all fantastically sung, from Issy Wroe-Wright’s scene-stealing ‘Last Christmas’ to the gorgeous harmonies in ‘Fairytale of New York’.

A Pissedmas Carol has carved out a format that sets it apart from any other Christmas show, yet also puts it head and shoulders above them. Forget panto – this is the most fun you’re going to have in a theatre this festive season.

Reviewed by Ethan Doyle

Photography by Rah Petherbridge

SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL

Leicester Square Theatre

★★★★

“chaotic and gloriously daft”

SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL

Leicester Square Theatre

Reviewed on 11th December 2025

by Jessica Hayes

Photography by Andrew AB Photography

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME

SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME

SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME

Leicester Square Theatre

Reviewed – 28th November 2019

★★★★★

“bountiful instances of quick-witted, gleeful silliness”

A Pissedmas Carol has carved out a format that sets it apart from any other Christmas show, yet also puts it head and shoulders above them. Forget panto – this is the most fun you’re going to have in a theatre this festive season.

Reviewed by Ethan Doyle

Photography by Rah Petherbridge

Sh!t-Faced Showtime: A Pissedmas Carol

Leicester Square Theatre until 5th January

Previously reviewed at this venue:

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