I must confess that it was with some trepidation that I approached this adaptation of A Christmas Carol, knowing from the publicity that Scrooge had been replaced by his sister; the premise being that Ebenezer had suffered the early death that befell his sister Fan in the original book, and she in turn had married Jacob Marley and taken over the business after his death.

How would that work? Was it just tokenism? But I was pleasantly surprised, the lead character being Miss Scrooge (she reverts to her maiden name in her widowhood) adds a whole interesting dynamic, exploring the role of women in Victorian times and their limited rights, expectations and opportunities.

These were often overlooked by Charles Dickens himself whose female characters can tend towards the stereotypical or eccentric. For instance, the ghost of Christmas past goes back, not to visit Scrooge at school but to visit her at home whilst her brother Ebenezer is away at school and she is lonely and struggling to cope with her widowed father's troublesome drinking and money /debt issues, having to manage the household by herself. As well as dealing with these serious topics there is also great humour in this performance.

Puppets play a large part in this production adding an extra visual element, as well as a certain amount of comedic value. Amongst their number are a talking dog and turkey, and an imaginary parrot. Also, Charles Dickens’ cat, played and puppeteered in a flowing, feline way by Jan Nightingale, takes on the role of the narrator, along with the two very much human cold and hungry urchins who are Want and Ignorance.

The Ghost of Christmas Past (Rowan McDonnell) is an embodiment of Fan’s candle, and is blown out by Fan in the same way. The Ghosts of Christmas Present and Christmas Future are both represented by large puppets, the former a version of Fan’s robe and the latter a silent headed form of her tattered bedsheets. The Ghost of Christmas Present has his own comedic mannerisms, such as his suggestions of meditation and hilltop retreats.

The dramatic sound effects add to the atmosphere, enveloping us in it, although the stormy sounds at the start were so loud it was difficult to hear some of the initial exchanges. Hopefully this was just an opening night issue that will be ironed out in later shows.

The mock brickwork, double levelled set works well for the stark Victorian setting of the play. With movement of furniture, it serves as Scrooge’s office, the Cratchit’s house, Scrooge’s bedroom and countless other scenes. The monochrome and dark coloured costumes reflect the staid nature of Victorian England. The muted colours of Want and Ignorance’s costumes reflects their misery.

Also Fan initially wears a black dress whilst at work, perhaps reflecting her widowhood, which is contrasted with the white nightdress she puts on when she retires to bed and continues to wear whilst being visited by the spirits, perhaps symbolising the possibility of change for the future, and the loss of innocence from her past. Her final outfit (no spoilers) is also white and symbolises what she has become, with people commenting on how she looks different.

There are some great performances in this show, it is hard to single anyone out. Cathryn Bowler pulls off a convincing Fan Scrooge. Kelly Davidson and Paul Cribdon evoke sympathy as Want and Ignorance respectively, including their interactions with the audience at the start of the second half.

Although it is a fairly large cast of sixteen, the complexities of this story call for a wide range of characters so nearly everyone seamlessly takes on multiple roles. This too adds an extra dimension, creating thoughtful parallels, such as Young Fan and Ebeneezer Scrooge being played by the same actors who play Want and Ignorance, showing how easily their fates could have been interchangeable. Dean Sheridan deserves a particular shout out for his flexibility as he plays no less than seven roles, including the chained, troubled ghost of Jacob Marley who visits his widow, Fan.

Although this play does echo lots of the original story of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, there are many surprising twists, particularly towards the end which proves a delightful turning of our expectations on their heads. These proved, by turns, to be startling, incredulous, slightly bewildering and intensely hilarious. There was still a grounding in gritty reality, however, with an underlying reminder that want and ignorance are still around on our streets today. The closing carols, sung beautifully, really got the audience into the Christmas spirit and reminded us of the need for good will to all, and, to paraphrase Tiny Tim, for God to bless us everyone.

Alison Manning, Elementary Whatson

A Christmas Carol is as seasonal as The Nutcracker is for ballet lovers, so it is tempting to expect same old, same old. The Criterion’s decision to perform this alternative version adapted by Piers Torday, with Fan Scrooge [Cathryn Bowler], Scrooge’s sister, as the protagonist was ambitious. Fan, the widow of Jacob Marley, is embittered that as a woman in Victorian England she gave up her wealth, freedom and name when she married. Her successful and harsh usury business is the only way she has survived.

The story has a unique twist in that it uses puppetry to help to tell the story. Whilst Rowan McDonnell is the ghost of Christmas past, puppeteer Pippa Church created puppets for the ghosts of Christmas present and future, cleverly manipulated by supporting cast members. The story had the accompanying narration by a cat [puppeteer Jan Nightingale] and two urchins, Ignorance [Paul Cribdon] and Want [Kelly Davidson].

The set builders, led by Mark Ward, produced a superb two level setting. This allowed characters to be able to look down on the action, and gave more space for minor scenes. It also cleverly allowed props to be wheeled on and off to create completely different locations. However there were a number of occasions when the cast member(s) was not in the right place for their spotlight.

The script did not allow the highly talented Cathryn to be anything other than a rather one dimensional angry misandrist, albeit often very funny, until after the third ghost had visited and been robustly rebuffed by brusque Fan. Only when the action fast-forwarded 175 years, to an even more future Christmas, was she able to show a range of emotions. Dean Sheridan, stalwart of several Criterion productions, took numerous parts. His best role was as the ghost Jacob Marley, encumbered by chains, who had summoned the Christmas ghosts to get his widow to change her behaviour, which she did indeed do.