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December ~ [Online Theatre] ~ Review
Dec. 30th, 2020 06:57 pm
As everyone keeps reminding me ‘Christmas is a little different this year’, which seems to be the understatement of the century. No big family get togethers, no bustling Christmas markets, no work parties, and of course no live pantomimes or festive shows. Personally, one of my favourite yuletide traditions each year is picking which of the dozens of retellings of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol I plan to watch. Imagine my delight then when I was asked to review a new A Christmas Carol adjacent theatrical production, Alexander Knott’s play December, which has been created for audiences at home during these unprecedented times.
Rather than following the story of the miserly old Ebenezer Scrooge, in December we are instead invited into the world of his lowly clerk, Bob Cratchit, and taken on a dark journey through the icy and perilous streets of London. This London is a darker and harsher one than that which Scrooge experiences, with thugs on each corner waiting to pounce and poverty and hunger are every-day realities. Likewise, this portrayal of Cratchit is darker too – a man who is suffering and flawed. We see deeper, past the smiling, upbeat husband and father to the desperate, exhausted man having to fight tooth and nail every day just to survive and support his loved ones. The weight of his responsibility and the hardships of a harsh city have ground him down. It’s a much grittier and more honest portrayal of the inner mind of someone living hand to mouth and working to the bone each day.
Like Scrooge, Cratchit is visited by otherworldly spirits with a message and warning for him on this bitterly cold Christmas Eve. The downtrodden clerk, unsure if he can carry on living in such a hard world, is shown visions of the suffering of the future poor. It’s a Wonderful Life this is not - the spectres provide Cratchit a bleak glimpse at the decades to come with the war, sickness, and inequality they will continue to bring. It’s pretty grim. If you’re looking for something cheerful to brighten your festive season then this probably isn’t the play for you. But it’s not all doom and gloom, there’s a bittersweet hope to the piece, a kind of fierce encouragement that we must soldier on and not give up. We should lament the hardships wrought on the common people by the oppressive super rich, but we must not be broken by them.
We are given a chance to see Cratchit’s real resentment for his greedy employer, his words echoing through the ages and reflecting a growing resentment being felt today towards the callous wealthy elite hoarding more money than they could ever need whilst so many live in poverty. With the gap between the poor and rich wider than it’s been in recent history Cratchit’s frustrations resonate with audiences of today. The anger is infectious, feeling at times like a call to arms, a rallying cry that we must put a stop to this injustice.
The script, which is almost solid monologue for the first half of the play, is very Dickensian in tone, mood and style. Details from the book are woven naturally throughout, peppered in sparsely enough that it’s familiar whilst feeling like a very different story all its own.
The Dickensian dialogue is brought to life with all the more vibrancy by Ryan Hutton who plays Bob Cratchit. Acting to a camera is very different to acting for a live audience, but Hutton pulls it off effortlessly and his infectious theatrical energy draws you into the performance until you almost forget you’re in front of a screen and not in an auditorium. In December Cratchit is endearing and sympathetic, with much more depth of character than he’s afforded in the classic Dickensian tale. Hutton brings him to life in a way which is endlessly watchable. He also plays a handful of other minor characters within his monologues, which are very distinctive and well characterised, the changes to his speech and physicality bringing these additional players to life seamlessly. Praise, too, should be given to Freya Sharp who plays the spirits, as well as a collection of other characters Cratchit encounters. She tackles this selection of roles with great range, demonstrating an ability to delight, amuse, frighten, fluster, or tug at the heartstrings of the audience as required.
A lot of thought has clearly gone into the design of December as a theatrical piece for camera. December benefits from plenty of thoughtful and out of the box camera direction from Charles Flint. Filmed in and around Old Red Lion theatre, the action is not merely confined to the auditorium but spills out onto the street and even, at one point, into the pub. December still feels like a theatrical piece, but without the conventions dictated by a live audience this line becomes a little blurry.
My only criticism of December, is that a lot of time is dedicated to introducing Bob Cratchit and the world in which he inhabits, plunging deep into the dark well of his soul, which leaves little time for spirits to visit. As a result, the visions Cratchit is shown feel somewhat rushed through and the conclusion of the play seems tacked onto the end and just narrowly fails to quite stick the landing.
Nevertheless, December is a winter treat I highly recommend to anyone who has missed good theatre this season. Every element has been crafted with care and it’s a delight to see something of such a high quality being produced in these difficult times. A reflective, pensive and thoughtful piece, December may have changed the way I think about A Christmas Carol forever.
As well as being a fantastic production, December is raising money for a good cause, with all profits going to Hackney Winter Night Shelter, a charity which strives to put an end to rough sleeping during the coldest time of year. So, don’t be a Scrooge, follow the link below, buy your ticket for one of the best digital shows of the year, and help make life better for someone in need in the process!
DECEMBER
Written and Directed by: Alexander Knott
Directed for Camera by: Charles Flint
Company: Bag of Beard
Filmed at: Old Red Lion Theatre
Available online from 20th December – 5th January
Box Office: https://www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk/december1.html
@BagofBeard
