ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

Ogden) and many children. After his encounters with the four spirits, Scrooge is relieved to discover that there is still time for him to change and that he has seen the error in his ways. We then see him transformed into a generous and kind-hearted human being, even stopping two young errand boys in his tracks (Freya Wright and Grace Munnerley.) There were minimum props and furniture, but enough to create the right effect within each scene. I particularly like the opening scene in Scrooge’s workplace with its two lonely desks. This scene , in particular, set the tone for the rest of the production and encapsulated Scrooge’s hatred of spending money on “frivolous items”, even if said items would be useful (Coal). The sound and lighting effects, especially within this scene, were very good, creating just the right amount of dismal glow without having to strain to see what was going on. Tony Birch and Ben fox managed this throughout the entire play. The team who put together the wardrobe for this production certainly had their work cut out for them. A large cast dressed in all Dickensian fashion must have been a difficult task to source. All the costumes and makeup were appropriate in all scenes and stayed true to the time period. However, I did feel the hairstyles were too modern for the piece, and this often times brought me into Christmas present rather than remaining in Christmas past, and unfortunately distracted from the action taking place. The use of singing within this production added another layer to this performance. The Chorus lead by Fred, Scrooge’s nephew really got the audience into the Christmas spirit. Even the Grinch himself would have found it hard not to hum along. A special mention goes out to the younger members of the ensemble, with each and every scene you showed us what amazing talent can come from the youth coming up through your society. Matching younger actors to their older counterparts (Sorry Steve), is a task, ensuring the characters not only look the part, but carry on through the mannerisms. Charlie Boardman and Leo Powell did a tremendous job of bringing Scrooge’s younger self to life right in front of our eyes.