A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story - Alexandra Palace ★★★★

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has inspired countless adaptations over the years, each attempting to capture the enduring magic of its winter tale. Mark Gatiss’ retelling, A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story, following a critically acclaimed 2023 run, this winter arrives at Alexandra Palace Theatre, offering audiences a faithful and beautifully crafted version of the story. With its perfectly preserved Victorian features, the theatre feels lifted straight from Dickens’ London, and stepping into the auditorium is the equivalent of stepping into a Dickensian snow globe, an immersive Christmas card setting that lingers long after the curtain falls.

The story opens on Christmas Eve with the death of Jacob Marley, Neil Morrissey. In his spectral return, Morrissey’s Marley brings equal moments of horror and humour as he warns his old partner of the fate that awaits should his greed continue, as the stage is swarmed with ghostly puppet figures. Morrissey also lends his talent by enriching the ensemble throughout, helping to populate the bustling Victorian world that director Adam Penford with designer Paul Wills has created.

Matthew Cottle, as Ebenezer Scrooge, delivers a performance that balances miserliness battling the giddy moments of joy, punctuated by a return back to “bah humbugs” and the eventual warmth and embracing of jubilant celebrations.

Visually, the production is striking. Paul Wills’ sets capture Victorian London’s richness, transitioning seamlessly from a counting house to snowy, smog-filled streets, a graveyard, the richness of a Victorian parlour, Scrooge’s boarding school and the impoverished Crachit home, to name a few.

The production is narrated by a Dickensian storyteller, Michael Mears, who guides the audience through the spectral journey with a fireside cadence in between the ghostly visits.

The visit from The Ghost of Christmas Past, Grace Daly, introduces a gentle but unnerving shift. Her childlike brightness carries subtle darkness, leading Scrooge through tenderly rendered memories. Kalifa Taylor’s Belle and the young Ebenezer, Lance West (who also takes on the role of the persistent nephew Fred), provide the bittersweet reminder of the choices Scrooge made. The whole ensemble moves fluidly between roles: schoolchildren, partygoers, remnants of the past, and ghostly figures, serving as a living embodiment of Scrooge’s own history and key figures in Scrooge’s life.

The Ghost of Christmas Present Mark Theodore bursts onto the stage spreading Christmas spirit; he is joyous and enigmatic and injects a festive mischief. It is after this we are then reminded of the stark reality of the workhouses with the hauntingly beautifully designed puppets of Want and Ignorance, in a much more strikingly poignant way than a different, well-known, puppet interpretation.

The Cratchit household, with Charlotte Bate’s heartwarming Mrs Cratchit and Henry Davis’ devoted Bob, is filled with tender domesticity and playful joy. Young Tiny Tim (Elliot/Elios Douglas) provides the emotional heart of these scenes without descending into sentimentality.

In this production, Adam Penford combines traditional storytelling with inventive and at times unnecessary modern theatrical flourishes; sudden blasts of light, loud sound effects, slow motion, and tableaux along with physical theatre which worked in parts but at other times felt unneeded. The production shines when it relies on Dickens’ narrative, the ensemble, magical choreographed moments, the haunting melodies, and the ability to transport the audience into a festive Victorian London coupled with the grandeur of Alexandra Palace Theatre itself.

Mark Gatiss’ adaptation does not attempt to reinvent A Christmas Carol, and this faithfulness is part of its appeal; they could afford to lean into the traditional Dickensian theatrical elements more. While subtitled A Ghost Story, it is more warm than terrifying, offering elegance, craftsmanship, and moments of quiet magic.

The result is not the production for anyone seeking a fresh, modern twist on Dickens’ tale. Rather, it is a feast for mulled wine-drinking families, a gathering for those who want to be enraptured in the festive spirit. With its enchanting design, heartfelt performances, and loving attention to Dickens, A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story at Alexandra Palace Theatre delivers a traditional yuletide experience that will leave audiences feeling thoroughly immersed in the magic of Christmas.