A Christmas Carol - Leeds Playhouse

I have a confession to make!

A Christmas Carol is my all-time festive fave, and I love every version of it: The Muppet Christmas Carol, Scrooged, and Mickey’s Christmas Carol to name but a few. So, I was childishly excited to catch the Leeds Playhouse version last week.

And I wasn’t disappointed!

In this Leeds Playhouse version, Ebenezer Scrooge is reimagined as a wealthy but joyless Victorian mill owner in 19th century Leeds, grinding his workers through a bitter Christmas Eve while sneering at any and every hint of festive cheer.

That night he is confronted by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley and then whisked away by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, who drag him through the key moments of his own life and the harsh reality of the world outside his privilege and his mill.

We see the warmth and poverty of the Cratchit family and the precarious fate of Tiny Tim alongside images of exhausted mill workers and a Leeds transformed by industry.

As the spirits strip away his excuses, Scrooge is forced to confront the damage his greed has done to those around him and the lonely future that awaits.

By Christmas morning he has embraced a genuine change of heart, throwing himself into community, generosity and celebration in a version of Dickens’ tale that keeps all the classic beats while rooting them firmly in Yorkshire soil.

You know the story, we all do.

The question is, do they do it justice, do they get you in the feels as you experience Ebeneezer’s transformation?

It’s a resounding yes from me.

This version has, great performances, an amazing set, spectacular lighting, integrated BSL and, yes - genuine heart.

Reece Dinsdale is great as Scrooge, a different physical type to the usual thin and scrawny actors whose physicality personify his miserliness, but he plays it with a humour that works well and sparks with the rest of the great cast.

I’ve become a bit of a set/staging geek over the last few months and there are some flourishes here that had me applauding their inventiveness - check out the tombstones for the Ghost of Yet to Come section, simple and incredible at the same time.

The lighting deserves a shout out too, Jai Morjaria, has produced a wonderfully atmospheric world for our two hour visit, works so well with the other elements of the show.

The integrated BSL was a delight, with every actor, deaf or not, contributing at times, and when not on stage, we had a BSL performer stage left so that everything was signed, loved the care they’d put into making it truly accessible.

This version of A Christmas Carol has just cemented its place in my heart as the best festive tale there is…

Oh, no it isn’t.

No, it is, genuinely!

*probably not strictly true - but most.

Cast

  • Reece Dinsdale as Mr Scrooge

  • Obioma Ugoala as Marley and Fezziwig

  • Claudia Kariuki as Ghost of Christmas Present

  • Bea Glancy as Ghost of Christmas Past

  • Stephen Collins as Bob Cratchit

  • Nadia Nadarajah as Mrs Cratchit

  • Finton Flynn as Peter Cratchit

  • Amy Forrest as Belle and Mrs Fred

  • Danny Colligan as Fred and Young Scrooge

  • Paul Brown as Dick Wilkins and Topper

  • Rosie Strobel as Mrs Dilber and Ensemble

  • Jon Bonner as Ensemble

  • Matthew James Hinchliffe as Ensemble and Music Captain

  • Esther Lim as Ensemble

  • Amy Blake as Off stage swing and second cover

  • Joseph Clowser as Off stage swing and second cover

  • Adam Bassett as Cover Bob Cratchit

  • Xolani Crabtree as Cover Mrs Cratchit

Tiny Tim performers

  • Alexa Raja as Tiny Tim

  • Lucas Kerr as Tiny Tim

  • Thalia Coultas as Tiny Tim

Creatives and crew

  • Deborah McAndrew adaptor

  • Amy Leach director

  • Hayley Grindle set and costume designer

  • EJ Boyle choreographer

  • John Biddle composer

  • Jonathan Mitra musical director

  • Jai Morjaria lighting designer

  • Ed Clarke sound designer

Access and casting team

  • Adam Bassett BSL consultant

  • Sarah Cox lead BSL interpreter

  • Hear The Picture – Dan Parr audio description consultant

  • Esther Irving audio description consultant

  • Xolani Crabtree associate director

  • Lucy Casson CDG casting director

  • Keston and Keston children’s casting and general management