Simon Callow in A Christmas Carol. Photo: Matt Humphrey

FIRST question: Can there be a Christmas without a production of A Christmas Carol? I’ve not known one. Second question: Can there be one without Simon Callow’s one-man show of the classic tale? Quite possibly, but with sell-out shows in 2011, 2012 and 2016, this year’s proceedings are a real bonus.

It is no mean feat to turn Dickens’ character-filled novel into a non-stop 90-minute monologue but, wonderful actor that he is, Callow manages to pull it off, recreating all the key episodes of the story, be they Ebenezer Scrooge’s solitary meeting with the ghost of Jacob Marley or his dancing at Fezziwigs’ jolly party as a young clerk before the rot has set in.

Callow can shift in the blink of an eye from being the hard-hearted miser to Bob Cratchit, bravely trying to hold back his tears following the death of Tiny Tim, or even the inarticulate young boy despatched by Scrooge to deliver “the prize turkey” to Cratchit’s home in Camden Town.

Aside from the odd projection of street scenes, a clock and a window, plus some music, there are few props, just Callow and Dickens’ own words, whose tale of social squalor and personal redemption thus resonate even more. So no point looking forward to seeing any ghosts, or hearing bells – these are all to be imagined just as if you were reading the book. And with Adam Povey’s lighting, you could be reading it by fire and candlelight, with all the atmospheric shadows that they give off.

Until January 12, 2019
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