Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. Half stars fall between the ratings
David Weller as Gordon, Pip Olliver as Thelma,
Denise Phillips as Phoebe, Kate Pilling as Felicity and Sandra Haynes as
Mercedes. Pictures: Emily White
The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic
Society "A Christmas Carol"
Highbury Theatre Centre
****
For any aficionado of Charles Dickens this version of his famous
classic is an absolute . . . must is not quite the right word here . . .
perhaps . . . trial would fit the situation better,
All the elements are there, more or less, with more less than more,
and although it is a long time since I read the novella, I cannot
remember the original mentioning conversations over a police radio nor
was there a section devoted to a fatality involving several supermarket
trolleys and Bob Cratchitt, but perhaps I read the abridged edition.
The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic
Society A Christmas Carol (pause for breath) had an inauspicious start
when Denise Phillips came smiling and welcoming on stage as Mrs Phoebe Reece, leading figure of the TFAHETGDS, for short(ish),
and after winning a battle with the microphone, she had to
announce most of the cast were held up in traffic and held an audition
to select a new Scrooge from the audience.
The audition consisting of picking on some poor bloke too slow in
averting his gaze. Luckily, a relative term in this case, the cast
arrived in time to save him, but sadly not the audience.
The TFAHETGDS have tried their hand at Shakespeare, at French farce,
murder and on and on, and have shown remarkable consistency, every
production has been a consistent disaster, a production to be not so
much enjoyed as endured. They manage to make bad merely a worthy
ambition, an aspiration unlikely to ever be achieved.
Timing is hit and miss, cues negotiable, the script, yes there was
one apparently, vaguely within touching distance of the original story,
while the acting is . . . perhaps best not to go too far down that
haunted avenue.
It is also glorious, wonderfully daft fun, and, let’s be honest, you
gotta be pretty damn good to be that mind blowingly bad.
Pip Olliver as Scrooge and Kate Pilling
as his dying sister
Anything that could go wrong did, as, remarkably, did things that
couldn’t possibly go wrong – could they? Many problems were being laid
at the door of Adrian who we never saw, who was off stage in charge of
all the technicals, sound, lights and stuff, but was distracted, it
seems, by spending his time reading some magazine or other.
It was never fully stated but reading between the lines it appears he
may have been researching female anatomy in a glossy magazine . . .
perhaps he was studying to be a gynaecologist or something, who knows.
Gordon, played with a, ‘ecky th’ump” Northern accent by’t David
Weller, came in as Marley, Mrs Cratchitt, and ghosts of Christmas past
and present, all played with equal . . . let’s just say, all played by
him.
Felicity, Kate Pilling, weighed in as Fred, Scrooge’s cheery nephew,
as well as anyone else hanging around – she also did a dance routine to
Let's Go Dancing, Strictly’s theme tune, which lasted almost as long as
the TV programme, filling in while waiting for Mrs Reece to transform
from Tiny Tim in cloak and crutch to Fred’s wife in the emerald green
dress.
This was the dress she had told us about at great length but hadn’t
had time to change into for a scene earlier in the play and we were all
suitably unexcited to finally see it. The emerald green dress also came
with the strange accessory of an Irish accent.
Then there was Mercedes, in her neck brace, who, after the accident
with the trolleys was unable to do any benz . . . (all right, please
yourself then).
Sandra Haynes limped and shuffled her way through as Bob
Cratchitt as well as Scrooge’s lost love Belle wearing an out of
control wig, which had a hint of Old English sheepdog crossed with
Michael Fabricant. Scrooge, true to his calling, preferred an affair
with cash, so she dumped him before trying to see her way off stage
through the flowing curtain of golden locks..
And that brings us to Scrooge! Many people add ham to the festive
feast and if you are short this year, then Pip Olliver as Thelma has plenty to
spare with a performance so far over the top it was dusted with
snow.
This was real method acting, the method being in yer face and
ignore me at your peril, not so much a tour de force as just out and
out force. A joy to watch, driving everything along.
There are some lovely touches, the interference on the sound
system, over,
lights that may or may not be on or off at the right time, the
chiming bells for what seemed like 15 o’clock, scenery from doors to
beds to gravestones falling over, the Cratchitt house with its
dining suite of an occasional table and one chair creating some
innovative thinking and seating for meals – oh and don’t even think
about mentioning Gordon’s head stuck in a door for half a play.
We had half an audience participation sing along, then there was
the propensity of the cast, or rather Mrs Cratchitt to suddenly talk
about recipes and how to make special gravy – we all know gravy is
important to Northerners but I’m sure Dickens didn’t have three or
four pages on how to make it with lardons etc – but then the cast
did have a habit of talking about things or asking about things that
had nothing to do with the play.
They also had a problem with entrances and exits to or from the
wrong side, or not at all, and we had pennies from heaven, stage
left, stage right, stage anywhere to pay for a giant turkey we never
see, and then there was the inability of the cast to spell first
time around to make announcements.
The Dickensian Christmas scene mural at the back by Tessa Fenton
was all right though, excellent even, and didn’t fall off the wall,
so perhaps it was for another production . . .
We ended up with five actors cleverly and skilfully leading their
characters in a merry dance through absolute mayhem in a wonderfully
funny example of the total incompetence of the TFAHETGDS.
It is a strange fact of theatre that it is easy to be a bad
actor, after all there are plenty around, the really difficult trick
is not only playing the part of a bad actor, but playing a bad actor
well and here is a quintet who manage it with convincing aplomb. It
really does take a lot of hard work to get it that bad,
outstandingly good bad as one might say.
There are a lot of scenes, but most flow one to another so there
is no break but a couple of the longer changes could be snappier,
but that will happen as the run continues.
Although it may not seem like it at times, the play does end,
honest, and as you walk out into the frosty night you may hear a
slight whirring sound caught on the breeze. That’s another sound of
Christmas past, the sound of Charles Dickens spinning in his grave.
But who cares. Directed by Rob Phillips the result is a night
full of well-rehearsed mishaps and packed with laughs – two chairs
for Tiny Tim is a gem – all providing a welcome escape for a couple
of hours from the troubled world we live in, and we all need that. A
Christmas Carol will be trying to get it right (they won’t) to 09-12-23.
