A Shoddy Christmas Carol at the Lichfield Garrick Review
Written by Charis for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Shoddy Productions consistently delivers a hilarious take on both the theatre piece itself and the process of staging it, and tonight’s performance was no exception.
As always, something goes wrong with the main cast, leading to Becky Bartram, an understudy who insists she was "4th in line to play Scrooge," taking on the role. There’s also an increasingly disturbed Mitch Donaldson moving from Director to cast member, notably taking the place of the ghosts of Jacob Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.
Jacob Aldcroft, the stage manager, is thrown into disarray as the production begins without a cast, and he is forced to fill many roles as side characters, most notably Bob Cratchit, and young Scrooge.
This performance well and truly lives up to its aim as a comedic telling of both the production and the story of the play. Aldcroft becomes increasingly spooked by the myth that the theatre is haunted and that those who perform a Christmas Carol poorly will be haunted by Dicken's ghost, while also suffering from repeated injury and other malefactors, and fighting with Donaldson over whose fault the failures are, Donaldson's fears of having to refund the audience for a failed play (for which all of the production funds have ran dry) and who flips between enraged and agonized by the "shoddiness" of the performance, and Bartram, who only gained the role due to her father's bankrolling of the project, despite being "self-taught" in acting, and of course failing dismally to do so. The three drag themselves through the performance with the audience laughing both at and with them the whole time.
Donaldson and Bartram, who not only acted in the piece but also wrote it, demonstrated a strong understanding of Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol while avoiding the trap of creating just another retelling. Their comedic additions didn’t detract from the story; instead, they elevated it, setting this production apart from others. And even when the audience could anticipate the next “mistake,” the performance never felt predictable or stale.
In some ways, it is a testament to the acting talent of the three that a piece that is based on the ‘play going wrong’ troupe needs to be well rehearsed, but not rigid, or childish. The performance managed all the above and more. Despite including typical elements for the genre, it did not feel cliché. The addition of an audience member in Act One adds spontaneity to the piece, which was certainly comedic on the night.
Set and costume designer Louie Whitemore and associate Set and Costume Designer Jess Stanton did well to create a set and costumes that were built to break, leaning into the troupe while also ensuring that they met the requirements for a Christmas carol. The costumes and set certainly added to the piece and at times were the centre for the comedic action.
Overall, every element of the piece, from the writing, set, design, lighting and acting, fitted well together to create this overall comedic piece. It is a light-hearted, good-feel Christmas performance that anyone who enjoys British slapstick classic comedy should go see.
A Shoddy Christmas Carol will be on at the Lichfield Garrick until Sunday January 4th.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
