UK Theatre Network

 Northern Ballet Theatre

 Presents

 A Christmas Carol

Reviewed by Sue Marks at Milton Keynes Theatre on Tuesday 13^th October 2009.

Firstly congratulations to the Northern Ballet Theatre on their 40^th birthday. It is productions such as this that has enabled them to survive to maturity. If you enjoy contemporary ballet then you will love this rendition. If you are not particularly fond of ballet then the subject material makes this performance particularly accessible and I believe you will enjoy it in spite of yourself. Naturally Dickens’ dialogue is missing and it definitely helps if you know the story but for the most part the Company has kept close to the tale Dickens told. You might ask why bother with ballet; why not deliver the performance in prose? The answer is simple; dance is a more emotive medium and can inform this story in ways that cannot be achieved by players alone.

Scrooge is taken by Darren Goldsmith who for three quarters of the performance does not dance which accentuates how well he dances during the remainder. I particularly enjoyed the “reverse strip” where he dresses on Christmas morning. Sharing the limelight is Hironao Takahashi who plays Bob Cratchit. Whilst I believe it is divisive to single out members of a dance ensemble I feel it is only fair to mention the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future played respectively by Julie Charlet, Tobias Batley and Michael Berkin. The whole troupe gave a remarkable performance supported by children from the Myra Tiffin Performing Arts School.

The dancers are supported by a complete orchestra of approximately thirty people, lead by the first violin Geoffrey Allan and conducted by John Price-Jones. The superb quality of the orchestra clearly enhanced this production and effectively compensated for the lack of dialogue. The music portrayed many different moods and emotions ranging from classical to Christmas carols which are sung.

The costumes are lush ranging from Dickensian street clothes rich in velvet and brocades featuring bonnets and top hats to the fantasy outfits worn by the phantoms and ghosts. Particular mention must be made of the outfit worn by the ghost of Christmas future, a representation of the Angel of Death which is superb if somewhat frightening. As someone who doesn’t like feathers I found it particularly uncomfortable. I was more comfortable with the costumes of the ghosts of past and present.

The scenery was fairly simple consisting primarily of a mezzanine below which was a double sided pair of walls giving us the outside and inside of Marley and Scrooge’s office and with some alteration a Victorian street scene and the inside of the Cratchit’s home. Scrooge’s bed figured heavily although not always as Scrooge’s bed, for example when his tombstone rose out of it. Good use was made of lighting and special effects, such as snow in different forms.

This was an excellent production which was clearly well received by the audience as there was extensive applause at the end of the show, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance and would urge others to go and see it.

A Christmas Carol plays Milton Keynes Theatre from Tuesday 13^th October 2009 to Saturday 17^th October 2009.  Milton Keynes Theatre Box Office 0844 871 7652 (bkg fee). The tour then continues playing Sheffield Lyceum Theatre from 10^th to 14^th November 2009.

www.miltonkeynestheatre.com www.northernballettheatre.co.uk

2009 Reviewed by Sue Marks at Milton Keynes Theatre on Tuesday 13^th October on behalf of Catherine Brian.