A CHRISTMAS CAROL (PLAY)

Written by Charles Dickens

Adapted by Nelle Lee

Directed by Michael Futcher

Shake & Stir Theatre Co.

Canberra Theatre to 24 December.

 

Reviewed by Len Power 21 December 2022

 

The perfect show for the Christmas season, ‘A Christmas Carol’ has it all – a good, classic story, fine acting and breath-taking, elaborate staging.

Ebenezer Scrooge, in his quest for wealth, has lost the spirit of Christmas, becoming an embittered, lonely recluse.  One evening, close to Christmas, the ghost of his deceased former partner, Jacob Marley, appears before him in chains and warns him he is likely to suffer the same fate when he dies.  One by one, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come make him see the error of his ways and rejoin the human race in celebrating Christmas.

Charles Dickens wrote the novella, ‘A Christmas Carol’, in 1843 after reading a parliamentary report on child labourers which particularly moved him.  He, himself, had been a child labourer and he drew on that experience as well as those of his disabled nephew, the desperate struggles of the poor people at the time and the renewed Victorian interest in Christmas.  The story has remained popular ever since and various movies and theatre productions have retold the story in their own way.

Shake & Stir Theatre Co.’s production uses all the technical wizardry of the modern theatre to tell this story.  The supernatural element of ghostly apparitions and story flashbacks make this a difficult story to present convincingly but the company succeeds marvellously.

Eugene Gilfedder as Scrooge with members of the company

There are eight actors and one musician in this production.  Eugene Gilfedder plays Scrooge very effectively and the rest of this expert company play multiple roles, breathing life into all of the elaborate Dickens’ characterizations.  Tabea Sitte is a violinist who provides the appealing musical accompaniment to the action.  The composer is Salliana Campbell.

Josh McIntosh's set for 'A Christmas Carol'

The amazing production is designed by Josh McIntosh.  Sooty, dark, tall buildings loom out of the London night and back projections complete the picture of Victorian England.  The presentation of the ghostly spectres is extremely well-done with an exciting mixture of old and new technology.  The lighting, designed by Jason Glenwright, and the sound, designed by Guy Webster and Chris Perren, are an important part of the production, adding great atmosphere generally and some real shivers when the ghosts appear.

A great family show, ‘A Christmas Carol’ is true to Dickens’ source novella and is magically and memorably told.

 

Photos by David Fell

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

THE LOST KING (FILM)

Poster - Warner Bros.

Written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

Directed by Stephen Frears

Produced by Pathé, Baby Cow Productions, BBC Film and Ingenious Media

Screening at Palace Cinemas, Dendy Cinemas and Limelight Cinemas, Tuggeranong from December 26.

 

Reviewed by Len Power 7 December 2022

A good story often starts with an obsession.  In the case of ‘The Lost King’, that obsession happens to be a true one and it’s resulted in an absorbing and entertaining film.

Based on the 2013 book ‘The King's Grave: The Search for Richard III’ by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, it is a dramatisation of the story of Langley, the woman who initiated the search to find King Richard III's remains under a car park in Leicester, England.  Her obsessiveness, involving research, intuition and dogged determination in the face of doubting and initially unhelpful academia is a remarkable story.

Sally Hawkins plays Philippa, a woman struggling with chronic fatigue syndrome and a doubting husband and family.  Her performance as this obsessive woman is excellent.  We are quickly won over and hope she will succeed against likely insurmountable odds.  Hawkins makes every step of her journey believable.

Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan

Her husband is played by Steve Coogan, one of the writers of the screenplay.  He brings a quiet, warm and loving presence to the role, even though Langley must have been difficult to live with.  There are flashes of humour in their relationship along the way that lighten the tension at the right times.

An apparition of Richard III, played very well by Harry Lloyd, could have been hard to take, but Hawkins makes it believable that she ‘talked’ to Richard, who was very much a living presence to her after so much research.  We also accept her ‘feeling’ that an ‘R’ painted on a car park is the site of Richard’s grave.

Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins) 'talks' to Richard III (Harry Lloyd)

The remaining cast of character actors play their roles convincingly.  Mark Addy is a standout as University of Leicester archaeologist Richard Buckley, a man not easily convinced but supportive of Langley’s search.

There has been some controversy since the film’s release that certain facts have been distorted about the extent of the University’s involvement.  Whether this is true or not, it’s still a very entertaining film.

Philippa Langley was awarded an MBE for her work in 2015.  Sally Hawkins deserves some kind of award for her memorable portrayal of Langley, too.

 

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

ALLELUJAH! - THE LLEWELLYN CHOIR (CONCERT)

Conducted by Rowan Harvey-Martin

Holy Cross Anglican Church, Hackett 17 December

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

Subtitled ‘“Christmas with Benjamin Britten (and others)”, this “Allelujah!” concert featured two works by Britten - “A Ceremony Of Carols” and “The Company Of Heaven”. Other pieces included Corelli’s “ Concerto Grosso In G Minor, No. 8“, “Angel’s Carol” by John Rutter and “O Holy Night” by Adolphe Charles Adam.

The Choir entered at the start of the concert with lanterns singing “Procession”, the first part of “A Ceremony Of Carols”. This set the atmosphere of Christmas immediately and the choir was particularly effective singing the rousing “Welcome Yole!” as well as “In freezing winter night”, “Deo Gracias” and the finale, “Recession”.

There were also pleasing soprano solos by Charlotte Walker and Emily Ezaki-Swain.  The orchestra, conducted by Rowan Harvey-Smith, really excelled with the delicate “Interlude” in the middle of the work.

Next on the program was the Corelli “Concerto Grosso”.  In the intimate space of the church, this familiar work was given a beautiful performance of great clarity.

After a short break, Britten’s “The Company Of Heaven” was performed by the orchestra, choir and soloists.  Written originally for radio in 1937, this work depicts St. Michael and the angels, along with old Testament figures.  The musical numbers are interspersed with spoken text from various authors like Milton, Rossetti and Bunyan.  This challenging work with moments of great sensitivity as well as fury was given an accurate and confident performance by the choir.

Sonia Anfiloff (soprano) and Andrew Barrow (tenor) were featured during this work and both sang very well.  The clearly read text readings were given by Rohan Thatcher and Jennifer Pickard.

This dramatic work even woke the possums in the ceiling, to the amusement of everyone!

John Rutter’s “Angels Carol” was a nicely melodic contrast after the Britten and was very well sung by the choir.

The final work presented was Adam’s well-known “O Holy Night”.  With the resonant baritone of Rohan Thatcher and soprano, Sonia Anfiloff, rising above the choir, this proved to be a very moving performance.

This Llewellyn Choir concert was a triumph and produced a highly-charged feeling of Christmas.

 

Photo by Len Power

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 18 December.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.