by Sean Hillen

Superb!

Superb script. Superb scenery. Superb special effects. Superb costumes. Superb choreography.

And last but in no way least, superb acting. 

All superbly woven together in a superb production by Lyric Theatre Belfast of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ the uplifting, timeless seasonal story penned by Charles Dickens.

Now with so many superbs I need to justify, where and with whom I best start my review.

Remembering a line from the play about how words, like time, should not be squandered, I’ll start with the script.

With her hallmark skill and flair, playwright Marie Jones managed to transform a universal tale into a universal one imbued brilliantly with the local flavour of Belfast. I dare say even Dickens himself who graced the city with a lecture visit once would be delighted with this production.

Not only did Jones achieve her mission by adapting place names to the story but also plying dialogue with multiple colloquial catchphrases, many of them humorous.  In this regard, to add further fun to a theatrical event already brimming with it, I would suggest a fun exercise for both parents and children attending: so plentiful, quirky and  delightful are these catchphrases, try to innumerate, and remember them, post-show.

One of many highlights of this production was the fast-paced interplay between actors, actresses and musicians, the result being that not for one nano-second did I feel bored. And glancing periodically to my right, I was delighted to see my companion leaning forward in her seat, eyes glued to the stage, a broad smile on her face for most of the show, aside from tears at the poignant parts. Being less controlled, I guffawed often, but also admit to crying. Apologies to the lady on my right. Such emotional responses were a tribute not only to Marie’s script but also, of course, to the deft direction of Matthew McElhinney with an eclectic mix of music provided by composer, sound designer and musical director, Garth McConaghie.

Scenery and costumes next. 

If the setting, or more accurately, settings, of this production created so ingeniously don’t transport you back in time to a 19th century realistic world of fantasy (a seeming contradiction in terms, I know, but it’s actually not in this instance), then nothing will. Set designer, Stuart Marshall, and lighting designer, Mary Tumelty, deserve much high praise for the sheer scope of their ambitions and achievements, dizzyingly dazzling. All melding brilliantly with strikingly authentic vintage costumes, from the threadbare to the stylish, by Catherine Kodicek and Fleur Mellor’s complex point-perfect choreography. Such achievements also included a plethora of tantalising special effects. Consider a moving fireplace. Ghostly apparitions. Strange faces suddenly appearing on doors. Intricate interplay of intriguing shadows. That gives you a modest idea of what delightful highly-imaginative treats are in store. 

As for the acting. The so-called ‘Pottinger Players’ performed so well together it was as if they were all joined at the hip. 

I believed the group’s name was an actual acting troupe new on the drama circuit in Ireland. Instead it illustrates Jones’s amusing proclivity in this particular production for introducing Dickens’s story into the fabric of northern Ireland’s capital city, for the drama group’s fabricated title is a play on the name of one of Belfast’s most famous landmarks, Pottinger’s Entry, one of a network of historic narrow lanes crisscrossing the city centre, many dating back to the 1600s or earlier, and now popular places for buskers and street artists. A maze of narrow, winding alleyways that this production captures intimately.

With the severe, sullen, surly mood set by the extremely talented Dan Gordan as the grumpy, wheezing, miserly, maniacal money-mad accountant Ebenezer Scrooge, I was gently, nay, colourfully, skilfully, guided into the dynamic world of the working-class Victorian era almost two centuries ago where street vendors of all kinds hawked their wares, from oranges to duck eggs, while bravely offering each other healthy seasonal cheer in an era that was in fact rife with poverty and disease. 

Aside from Dan, there’s simply too many other fine performances – with some actors playing multiple roles – for me to name them all. What each of the eight actors displayed, vividly, was a passion for, and mastery of, drama and spectacle. Through sheer teamwork and attention to detail, as if a single entity, they presented a seamless stage sensation. 

Now before I wax overly lyrical (though it’s almost impossible to avoid doing so while writing about such high-quality entertainment as this), I’d better stop banging on keys and take a deep breath. And offer some simple sincere advice to you reader of this review.

Miss this wonderful interpretation of Charles Dickens’ most famous novella at your peril. 

Get ye to the Lyric Theatre box-office in Belfast. I guarantee you’ll not be disappointed.