A Christmas Carol At Octagon Theatre, Bolton Review

Reviewed by Cath Joyce

Last night we went to see A Christmas Carol at the Octagon Theatre Bolton. This retelling of Dickens’ classic story was a lovely way to start our Christmas celebrations and we felt very festive after watching the show, despite it still being November!

The Octagon theatre is an unusual design with the seating looking down onto an octagonal stage area, this layout works really well as no matter where you are sat, you have an excellent view of the stage.

On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old business partner Jacob Marley who warns him to change his miserly ways. Throughout the night, three ghosts take Scrooge on a journey through his Christmas past, present and future, highlighting what might happen if he continues with his miserly ways.

A Christmas Carol can be told in many ways but Kate Fergusson and Suzannah Pearse have adapted the story into a fun and family friendly production with plenty of music and comedy. The children who sat behind me certainly found plenty to laugh about and seemed to be really enjoying the show! The Christmas festivities at Fezziwig’s Annual Christmas Ball were a highlight, the song had a really catchy tune and certainly livened the night up, especially as the audience were encouraged to join in with the dancing. Whilst not described as a musical, music played a strong part in the production with every member of the cast playing an instrument and there were plenty of songs throughout the performance helping to tell the story.

The seven strong cast was excellent, with many of the actors playing multiple roles, swapping effortlessly between characters. Robert Wade is buoyant as Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, whilst Grace Firth playing Mrs Fezziwig and Mrs Cratchit demonstrated her musical talents along with her great singing voice. However, the star of the show has to be Laurie Jamieson who brilliantly portrayed Ebenezer’s transformation from miserable miser into a much warmer hearted human being. He had some great witty lines which allowed plenty of humour to come through, even when playing the cantankerous Scrooge.

Given the limited stage area the set was fairly minimal but effective nonetheless using simple props and lighting to change the scene from Scrooge’s office to his school and then Bob Cratchit’s home.

With most of the cast playing more than one role, the costumes are particularly important and for this show they are really impressive, the main characters were dressed in typical Dickensian garb setting the scene perfectly. Those for the ghosts of Christmas past (Lauren Patel) and present (Lianne Harvey) were particularly fun, excellently matching their characters.

A wonderful wintery finale delighted the audience and was a perfect ending to a Christmas show.
With family friendly matinees and early evening shows the production is playing at Bolton until the 14th January and is a great alternative to the traditional Christmas pantomime. We really enjoyed and can highly recommend it!

Rating 5/5

Tickets cost from £15

For more information or to book tickets visit https://octagonbolton.co.uk/whats-on/theatre/a-christmas-carol-2/#tickets or call the box office on 01204 520661

Octagon Theatre, Howell Croft South, Bolton, BL1 1SB