A Christmas Carol - The Old Vic

[mrnutz]

Saw this last night - my second visit after losing my Christmas Carol virginity to Stephen Mangan last year.

A very different viewpoint this time - sat in the main stalls rather than the side stage seats - so interesting to see things from another angle. Owen Teale was an excellent Scrooge and dealt very well with a short show stop in the first half where he had to run off to get his mic fixed.

It's an absolutely delightful production that I hope will run for years to come!

Some absolute rotters in the audience last night, though - a man in front snoring, one along his row who wouldn't stop talking at normal volume and checking his watch, and another in front of him who arrived very late, kept his headphones in and had to be told repeatedly to turn his phone off!

[Steve]

Saw this tonight for the umpteenth time, and it was like brand new, with Owen Teale now joint equal, for me, with Rhys Ifans, as my favourite Old Vic Scrooge. Just absolutely magical.

Of the 5 Christmas Carols I've seen this holiday period, this is my favourite by a distance! This is also the only version in which I noticed kids in the audience jumping up and down for joy.

Some spoilers follow. . .

If "Christmas Carol-ish" at the Soho Theatre squandered great characters through indulgent and sloppy writing; if "Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol" depicted a Scrooge more lonely and ineffective than mean and destructive; if SRB's Bridge Christmas Carol was pared down but excellent storytelling; if the Rose Theatre's Oliver-inflected singing kids were a joy; nonetheless, none can hold a candle to the orchestra of malicious selfishness and sheer exuberant joy conducted by Owen Teale tonight!

This production has everything:

It has the bells, the bells that so beautifully ring out the Christmas Carols;

It has strength in the ensemble, with Samuel Townsend and Lydia White, as a young Scrooge/Belle combo that would look and feel just right together in any BBC Jane Austen adaptation.

It has a Scrooge spotlit, in the round, that accentuates a sense of sitting in judgement on him, but also which makes us complicit in his casual cruelties.

For the kids, it has snow falling, and also the excitement of food being served on vertiginous slides;

But above all, this production reinstates the majesty, for me, of the central performance, by having a Scrooge who is a force of nature, in his antisocial malevolence, but equally in his exuberant redemption.

Until now, for me, only Rhys Ifans made the sheer distance from terrible to redeemed both absolutely enormous as well as simultaneously completely convincing.

Owen Teale achieves this too, for me. While perhaps Ifans's fairy-like exuberance was even more charming, perhaps Teale's opening aggression is even more viciously malevolent.

Both Ifans and Teale open up gaps in states of being that seem impossible to close, and then close them.

I was in uncontrollable tears at the finale of this, just as I was the year this show was first performed. Absolutely wonderful. 5 stars from me.

[ceebee]

Jan 4, 2023 22:42:52 GMT Steve said:

Saw this tonight for the umpteenth time, and it was like brand new, with Owen Teale now joint equal, for me, with Rhys Ifans, as my favourite Old Vic Scrooge. Just absolutely magical.

Of the 5 Christmas Carols I've seen this holiday period, this is my favourite by a distance! This is also the only version in which I noticed kids in the audience jumping up and down for joy.

Some spoilers follow. . .

If "Christmas Carol-ish" at the Soho Theatre squandered great characters through indulgent and sloppy writing; if "Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol" depicted a Scrooge more lonely and ineffective than mean and destructive; if SRB's Bridge Christmas Carol was pared down but excellent storytelling; if the Rose Theatre's Oliver-inflected singing kids were a joy; nonetheless, none can hold a candle to the orchestra of malicious selfishness and sheer exuberant joy conducted by Owen Teale tonight!

This production has everything:

It has the bells, the bells that so beautifully ring out the Christmas Carols;

It has strength in the ensemble, with Samuel Townsend and Lydia White, as a young Scrooge/Belle combo that would look and feel just right together in any BBC Jane Austen adaptation.

It has a Scrooge spotlit, in the round, that accentuates a sense of sitting in judgement on him, but also which makes us complicit in his casual cruelties.

For the kids, it has snow falling, and also the excitement of food being served on vertiginous slides;

But above all, this production reinstates the majesty, for me, of the central performance, by having a Scrooge who is a force of nature, in his antisocial malevolence, but equally in his exuberant redemption.

Until now, for me, only Rhys Ifans made the sheer distance from terrible to redeemed both absolutely enormous as well as simultaneously completely convincing.

Owen Teale achieves this too, for me. While perhaps Ifans's fairy-like exuberance was even more charming, perhaps Teale's opening aggression is even more viciously malevolent.

Both Ifans and Teale open up gaps in states of being that seem impossible to close, and then close them.

I was in uncontrollable tears at the finale of this, just as I was the year this show was first performed. Absolutely wonderful. 5 stars from me.

Thanks for your review Steve - I agree entirely and your words made me well up at the end, for I feel exactly the same way.  This is such a special production, which I hope will continue to be revived for as long as people want to see it.

[lookingatthestars]

Jan 5, 2023 10:40:08 GMT ceebee said:

Jan 4, 2023 22:42:52 GMT Steve said:

Saw this tonight for the umpteenth time, and it was like brand new, with Owen Teale now joint equal, for me, with Rhys Ifans, as my favourite Old Vic Scrooge. Just absolutely magical.

Of the 5 Christmas Carols I've seen this holiday period, this is my favourite by a distance! This is also the only version in which I noticed kids in the audience jumping up and down for joy.

Some spoilers follow. . .

If "Christmas Carol-ish" at the Soho Theatre squandered great characters through indulgent and sloppy writing; if "Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol" depicted a Scrooge more lonely and ineffective than mean and destructive; if SRB's Bridge Christmas Carol was pared down but excellent storytelling; if the Rose Theatre's Oliver-inflected singing kids were a joy; nonetheless, none can hold a candle to the orchestra of malicious selfishness and sheer exuberant joy conducted by Owen Teale tonight!

This production has everything:

It has the bells, the bells that so beautifully ring out the Christmas Carols;

It has strength in the ensemble, with Samuel Townsend and Lydia White, as a young Scrooge/Belle combo that would look and feel just right together in any BBC Jane Austen adaptation.

It has a Scrooge spotlit, in the round, that accentuates a sense of sitting in judgement on him, but also which makes us complicit in his casual cruelties.

For the kids, it has snow falling, and also the excitement of food being served on vertiginous slides;

But above all, this production reinstates the majesty, for me, of the central performance, by having a Scrooge who is a force of nature, in his antisocial malevolence, but equally in his exuberant redemption.

Until now, for me, only Rhys Ifans made the sheer distance from terrible to redeemed both absolutely enormous as well as simultaneously completely convincing.

Owen Teale achieves this too, for me. While perhaps Ifans's fairy-like exuberance was even more charming, perhaps Teale's opening aggression is even more viciously malevolent.

Both Ifans and Teale open up gaps in states of being that seem impossible to close, and then close them.

I was in uncontrollable tears at the finale of this, just as I was the year this show was first performed. Absolutely wonderful. 5 stars from me.

Thanks for your review Steve - I agree entirely and your words made me well up at the end, for I feel exactly the same way.  This is such a special production, which I hope will continue to be revived for as long as people want to see it.

I also agree, your review brought me right back to when I saw it a couple of weeks ago, and reading it made me feel emotional.  Owen Teal was stunning in the central role

[ceebee]

Saw today's matinee and loved it as much as ever - pray that it returns again in November. In the meantime, thank you to all of the cast, musicians and crew for the seasonal magic! Usually i see the ginal performance of this, but tonight I am at the last performance of Come From Away.

[c4ndyc4ne]

think this will be back again in 23?

[ceebee]

Jan 7, 2023 17:22:53 GMT c4ndyc4ne said:

think this will be back again in 23?

I hope so - I've a hunch they will bring it back as it'll be the 180th anniversary in December.

[ceebee]

Confirmed today - A Christmas Carol returns to the Old Vic in November! Hurrah!!

[digne]

So happy, it has become my favourite Christmas ritual.

[mrnutz]

Yay!

[alessia]

Jan 17, 2023 14:05:52 GMT digne said:

So happy, it has become my favourite Christmas ritual.

Mine too. Very happy it is coming back. 

[zahidf]

Christopher Ecceleston as Scrooge this year

[londonmzfitz]

Nov 17, 2022 12:23:11 GMT londonmzfitz said:

Adored this Tuesday night, and agree Owen Teale is a fabulous Scrooge, very good indeed. Was it always this ... short? Tuesday night I was out on the street by just gone 9.30pm ... And I also feel the staging has moved up - I might not have noticed but for the comment above.

I've seen this every year, it moves me every time. Every single time. The staging, the superb lighting, it's all quite magical. Rhys Ifans will probably always be my favourite Scrooge as he was my first here at The Old Vic, but Owen Teale is a very, very close second. It's superb.

I usually hold out for the PWC tickets but it's going to be manic with the new casting of Christopher Eccleston, so grabbed a couple of previews.  Oh how I love this show.  Might pop a last night in the basket too .. 


www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/christopher-eccleston-ebeneezer-scrooge-jack-thorne-rhys-ifans-andrew-lincoln-b2360163.html

[David J]

Anyone sat in P82-p83 in stalls? Says rail in eye line. Not too bothered as I've seen it nearly a dozen times but out of interest

[foxa]

I think Ecclestone will be brilliant in this.

[sophia]

Has anyone spotted any offers for this yet? This time last year I bought some stage seats reduced for London Theatre Week on TodayTix, but it doesn’t seem to be included in the sale this year (although plenty of stage seats are still available).

[ceebee]

Usual PWC ticket bunfight in motion right now then...

[Being Alive]

There's SO many PWC tickets though for this so like, logically most people should be fine

[iwanttix]

Got in the queue and was 3300 something so I'm assuming I won't be getting to the front 🤣

[ceebee]

Sept 12, 2023 11:28:56 GMT Being Alive said:

There's SO many PWC tickets though for this so like, logically most people should be fine

Are you being sarcastic?  I read there were 5000 PWC seats in total, of which 2500 have been made available today, and there were 1900 people ahead of me in the queue...  Presume the other 2500 will go on sale in a couple of weeks in a "if you missed out first time around " type post. Meanwhile, those who are unsuccessful will mop up seats at preview prices to avoid missing out...

[mrnutz]

Had this in my calendar and then completely forgot till 12.10. Now of course I am behind about 6k others in the queue 😭

[jm25]

Sept 12, 2023 11:32:07 GMT mrnutz said:

Had this in my calendar and then completely forgot till 12.10. Now of course I am behind about 6k others in the queue 😭

If it helps, I was in the queue the second it opened and still had (and have!) about 4,000 people in front of me. Oh well!

[ceebee]

A queue that isn't moving any time soon - good luck when you eventually get to the front.

[Being Alive]

I just logged in to have a look at the number of preview tickets available on the dates and it's a lot, so wasnt being sarcastic - I genuinely thought the majority of people would probably be ok as there seemed to be a LOT available (and I got through half an hour after booking opened and there were still loads)

[ceebee]

Oh great - thanks for the update. Hopefully there will be a few left then (or released) as the queue progresses.