Review: A Christmas Carol at Nottingham Playhouse

There is certainly star quality to the retelling of the Charles Dickens' ghostly classic A Christmas Carol ­— and not just in the cast.

The famous festive story has been adapted for this stage version at Nottingham Playhouse by award-winning actor and writer Mark Gatiss, who also appears on stage in various guises throughout, most notably as Jacob Marley.

But he is not the star of the piece. That honour goes to Nicholas Farrell, who was outstanding in the role of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge.

The mean-spirited businessman, whose Christmas spirit is non-existent, is visited on Christmas Eve by a series of ghosts, including that of his former business partner Marley, to show him the error of his ways.

The ghosts of Christmas Past (Jo Eaton-Kent) Present (Joe Shire) and Future show Scrooge how his life has developed, exactly what people think of him, and what his future holds if he doesn't mend his ways.

While Farrell is undoubtedly the star, full credit must also go to the ensemble cast. who slip in and out of the various characters and help bring to life Victorian England.

For although Gatiss's adaptation has a modern feel, it still manages to stay faithful to the original feel of the novel in its setting and storytelling.

Gatiss achieved huge acclaim for his last appearance at the Playhouse in The Madness of George III and standards have not slipped this time for this production is a superb piece of theatre ­— from the atmosphere and effects to the staging and cast.

I only wish it could have been staged a little closer to Christmas to really invoke the festive spirit.

There have been many tellings of this story, but this has got to be up there with the best of them. A Christmas Carol runs until November 20 ­— SH