Brisbane Arts Theatre present a hearty new retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Tallulah M.E. Grey, with John Grey, who also plays the lead role.
We were guided to our seats by an usher holding a lantern, and cast members later moved through the audience singing Christmas carols as the show began. The carolling, led by Choirmaster Timothy Buckney, continued both onstage and offstage at different points in the performance, adding to the atmosphere of the story. Ebenezer featured a large cast of more than 40 local actors, with a wide range of ages and experience, and there was a sense of warmth and camaraderie from the stage.
The play follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a character whose name has become synonymous with mean-spiritedness. Wealthy but miserly, Scrooge is an elderly man who scorns Christmas, charity and celebration. He refuses to attend his nephew’s annual Christmas party, begrudgingly gives his overworked, underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit the day off for Christmas since it is the social custom, and funds prisons and workhouses rather than give money to the poor.
On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Condemned to wander the earth in heavy chains after his death, and hoping to help Scrooge avoid the same fate, Marley warns that three more ghosts are on their way – the spirits of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. One after the other, these spirits show Scrooge the impact of his behaviour on others and how he will be remembered after his death if he continues on this path. Scrooge must reckon with the memories of his youth, the reality of the old man he has grown into, and the kinder, gentler man he could still become in the future.
Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 and has never been out of print. This story of transformation, generosity, and moral and social responsibility has been adapted and parodied countless times for film, stage, opera, and more. A Christmas Carol is also credited as renewing popularity of the phrase “Merry Christmas” in Victorian-era English society, and for introducing Scrooge’s declaration “Bah! Humbug!” to the popular lexicon.
John Grey was brilliant as Ebenezer Scrooge, in turns sarcastic, cantankerous, furious, and movingly remorseful as he traversed Scrooge’s well-worn redemption arc. Equally versatile was Douglas Berry in the role of Bob Cratchit, providing comic relief as well as the emotional depths of grief at Tiny Tim’s future graveside. Charles Dickens also appeared as a character in Ebenezer, played by Reagan Warner and seated to the side of the stage, interacting with Scrooge occasionally as the story unfolded from his pen.
Set design by Tamzen Hunter evoked the Victorian style of the original story, as did costuming designed by Kate Clarke. Props including an absurdly oversized Christmas turkey added to the play’s humour. Lighting design by George Pitt, who was also the production Stage Manager and Head of Tech, and sound design by Zoe Power added to the storytelling, announcing the arrival of the sprits, and making it clear whether Scrooge was in the past, present, or future.
Brisbane Arts Theatre’s Ebenezer is the perfect show to end the year on, full of Christmas spirit and sentimentality – I left the theatre reflecting on how we could all be kinder and more generous to one another.
Ebenezer will be performed at Brisbane Arts Theatre, Petrie Terrace, from 9 – 31 December 2023.
For ticketing and further information, visit the Brisbane Arts Theatre website
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