REVIEW: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Jack Studio Theatre until 30 December 2022

‘Wit and panache - with a charming and neat payoff’ ★★★★

As I’ve noted previously London theatregoers are not short of versions of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol this year. Maybe it’s the resonance with the times or, more likely, that it’s just a great story.

Kate Bannister and Karl Swinyard have had a super year at The Jack Studio, and it is apt that Kate directs here against a set designed by Karl. Furthermore, Tice Oakfield - so good at the same venue in The Woman Who Amuses Herself - returns here to play a myriad of characters to once again show his diverse range and lightness of touch with an ‘in your face’ audience.

It’s clear from the outset that this will not be a wholly traditional reading of the novella. A lone figure, revealed as a soldier, strolls to the front of a stage bedecked with sandbags and Old Vic-esque doors (nothing wrong with nicking a good idea) - Christmas cheer this ain’t.

The core story is bookended by Oakfield as Jim, a self-confessed storyteller, offering up a Christmas tale for a mix of wounded soldiers ahead of a game of football to be played in No Man’s Land. Yes, it’s 1914 and, despite a lack of any obvious ‘Pipes of Peace’, Jim addresses his audience with wit and panache - with a charming and neat payoff (perhaps a bit too neat?).

As ever at The Jack Studio the use of video and sound is employed to great effect as we meet the ghosts and there are moments of song, dance and magic. The set facilitates this with ease and allows Oakfield to prowl the stage - I’m always taken aback by how small theatres constantly re-invent their space.

Ross McGregor’s adaptation is largely as per the written page but there is the odd modern flourish and a few gags. The breaking of the fourth wall works well, and this is due to Tice Oakfield. If he doesn’t mind my saying he has an almost rubbery face and body - he reminds me of a young Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer - with a natural resonance with the audience and he moves from character to character without missing a beat.

For me, the one slight let down is his Scrooge which lacks any pointed self-righteousness and he’s just a bit too ‘soft’. Indeed, combined with a denouement that feels rushed - we have to revel in Scrooge’s arc and it’s just 'done and dusted’ here - you might think that the show doesn’t quite work. That it does is down to a winning creative team and in Oakfield, an actor who must flourish going forward. I’d like to see ‘The Flying Dutchman’ as part of an ensemble in the future.

The epilogue is touching and, as the snow falls, one can’t help but think that another trip to The Jack Studio Theatre has truly blessed us - every one.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

adapted by Ross McGregor

from the novella by Charles Dickens

at The Jack Studio Theatre, SE4

Tuesday 13 – Friday 30 December 2022 at 7.30 pm

Box Office:  https://brockleyjack.co.uk/jackstudio-entry/a-christmas-carol/

Director | Kate Bannister

Set Design   Karl Swinyard                                       

Sound Design   Julian Starr                                                   

Costume Design | Martin J Robinson

Lighting Design | Carey Chomsoonthorn

Video Design | Douglas Baker

Stage Manager | Meghan Bartual Smyth

Assistant Director | Kashyap Raja

Producer | The Jack Studio Theatre

The Cast | Tice Oakfield.

Voice cast | Juliet Pagett, Meredith Angel

Reviewer: Paul Maidment

Paul had a long career at the BBC where he ran a number of commercial / digital businesses and he now consults to the creative content sector. His love of theatre came from his wife whom he met at university and he has been attending shows ever since. In 2021/22 Paul was a member of The Olivier Awards public panel which re-enforced his belief in theatre as the most exciting and engrossing cultural medium.