Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Spymonkey’s A Christmas Carol at the Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. Photograph used with kind permission by the Playhouse Theatre and Johan Persson.
Cast: Aitor Basauri, Petra Massey, Toby Park, Sophie Russell.
Musicians: Ross Hughes, Marcus Penrose, David Insua-Cao.
A Christmas Carol is one of Britain’s much-loved stories, its creator setting store for what became seen as the traditional seasonal offering to the nation, it has been the source of many adaptions, many stars have lived within the pages of the idea of redemption, of change. There have been sincere versions played on cinema screens and theatre boards, there have been anarchic and not so passionate displays, but all have the common factor in wishing to entertain and act as a reminder of what the time of year is truly about, hope, redemption and the will to change someone’s life.
People will always see the day as a chance to overspend, believing that money is a replacement for kindness, for empathy and love, what it can never replace is the chance to make someone smile, to make them laugh with beauty in their heart. To sing a carol of joy.
It is an arduous test for an actor to join an established troupe, the chemistry of a long since perfected cast can cause an upset if not balanced immediately. In less than auspicious companies, the problem can be seen to be there staring the audience in the face, the flow is disturbed, the force of the ensemble diluted, for Spymonkey none of that would be allowed to happen, the dynamic is resolute and whilst the wonderful Stephen Kreiss is absent from this particular tour, instead the excellent addition of Sophie Russell to the ranks of Toby Park, Petra Massey and Aitor Basauri keeps the tradition of the much-loved and admired group very much alive and kicking with authority upheld.
There is a sense of the special step taken though with having another woman join the exceptional Petra Massey on stage, a gender balance which is a real treat, the possibilities of clowning are taken to a new level for the cast and for this the laughter heard around the Playhouse Theatre stalls and in the gods looking down on the action was nothing short of impressive, a splendid moment of realisation of all the hard work that goes in to such a dedicated performance and one that exemplifies the path taken by director Ed Gaughan and the musicians involved.
It is though to Liverpool in which the connection is fully made, the writing of Charles Dickens is regarded highly in the city, his work having been received in the surroundings of St. George’s Hall at the peak of his literary prowess, now adapted by Spymonkey, arguably one of the true greats of the modern age of physical theatre and the art of clowning, A Christmas Carol, a song in the heart of all who see this display of comedy just a couple of hundred yards from where the author of timeless tales first stood and delivered literary history.
Spymonkey return to Liverpool with a fabulous production, Christmas cheer in abundance.
Ian D. Hall