REVIEW: A CHRISTMAS CAROL @ BARONS COURT THEATRE

🎭   A Christmas Carol

📍   Barons Court Theatre, 28a Comeragh Road, London, W14 9HR

🗓   Wednesday 20th December 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE PERFECT PERFORMANCE FOR GETTING INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

What better way to get into the festive spirit than by spending time with the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future in the cosy Barons Court Theatre?

I headed there on Wednesday evening to watch Mitch Benn’s performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It was a one-man show, with Benn impressively taking on all of the characters as well as being the narrator.

As retellings go, this was on the more traditional side. Benn wanted to pay homage to Dickens and let the impressiveness of his writing shine through in his performance.

The set was very minimal, using merely a coat stand and a black box in the middle of the stage. But Benn didn’t need anything else to be able to conjure up the story vividly for us as the audience. He used a range of accents for the different characters and seamlessly switched his body language depending on who he was playing. He used the space around him creatively, too, clutching the air to show the chains of Marley’s ghost and speaking to the coat stand in fear as if it was the ghost of Christmas yet to come.

For his performance, Benn had chosen a few scenes for each of Scrooge’s encounters with the three ghosts. The way he memorised the lines and brought the story to life on stage was seriously impressive. I was in awe at his abilities – he gave it his all when telling the story.

Benn took us on an emotional rollercoaster with the story, filling the room with weight and emotion when performing Bob Cratchit’s grief for Tiny Tim while later injecting light and laughter when Scrooge is reformed at the end. Benn clearly knew these characters inside and out, and I’m immensely grateful to have been able to see his interpretation of A Christmas Carol this festive season.

All proceeds from the ticket sales of this impressive and moving retelling of the classic Christmas tale went to St Mungo’s Homeless Charity. It was on at Barons Court Theatre from Wednesday 20th to Saturday 23th December.

Estelle Luck

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one reviewer.

My ticket for this performance of A Christmas Carol was gifted by Kibo Productions who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.