James Haddrell speaks on theatre productions over the Christmas period

If you ask just about anyone what the most iconic Christmas story is (other than the Christmas story in The Bible, clearly), chances are they’ll say A Christmas Carol.

Charles Dickens’ tale of a miser who is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghosts of past, present and future has been adapted so many times on stage, screen and radio that every new generation seems to have its own version.

Whether it’s The Muppet Christmas Carol with Michael Caine, Bill Murray in Scrooged, Jim Carrey’s animated version, this year’s Spirited with Will Ferrell, or the far from exhaustive list of 66 stage adaptations currently listed on Wikipedia, it seems there is a version for everyone.

For that reason, it’s little surprise that there are a few productions in London this Christmas.

Here at Greenwich we welcome back (for the third festive season, following a string of sell-out performances) John O’Connor and the European Arts Company with its production, which faithfully recreates Dickens’ own famous performance of his best-loved ghost story.

A Christmas Carol was the first public reading Dickens gave of his own work, and he went on to enact it more than 150 times.

“The success was most wonderful and prodigious,” he is reported to have said after the first night. “Perfectly overwhelming and astounding altogether.”

At Theatre Peckham, playwright and actor Geoffrey Aymer’s Scroogelicious blends storytelling, dance and song with an original music score by Jordan Xavier featuring rap, RnB, hip hop and funk.

Aymer reunites with Theatre Peckham’s artistic director Suzann McLean to present a refreshed and entertaining take on the allegorical tale, performed by an inspiring mix of professional actors and young people from Theatre Peckham’s academy.

In Aymer’s modern-day adaptation, this Scrooge has transformed from an elderly miser and moneylender to a young property developer and landlord.

Aymer said: “It feels very much as though we are living back in Dickensian times with very clear parallels to challenges that many will be facing in this country, not only this coming winter but in the months or even possibly years ahead.

“This contemporary version, inspired by Charles Dickens’ original, carries a powerful and pertinent message, but I also hope audiences will enjoy the music, mischief and merriment, and leave the auditorium uplifted and hopeful of a brighter future.”

Meanwhile at both the Old Vic and the Bridge Theatre, the classic tale is presented in something approaching its original form.

At the Old Vic, Owen Teale plays Ebenezer Scrooge in Jack Thorne’s adaptation of the novel, which has taken to heart the Carol of the title.

A string of festive songs are included in this production, performed with hand-bells and arranged by MD Christopher Nightingale, along with a healthy portion of mince pies and oranges distributed among the audience.

At the Bridge Theatre a cast of just three – Simon Russell Beale, Eben Figueiredo and Lyndsey Marshal take on all the roles to tell the same story.

Finally (though I’ve surely missed at least one), for the Rose Theatre in Kingston, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (writer of the Olivier Award winning Emilia) has written one of the most eagerly-awaited new adaptations, with a female scrooge and all new songs by Eamonn O’Dwyer.

It is likely that the reasons for the enduring appeal of Dickens’ tale have shifted over time and between different audiences, but this year, as the country starts to really feel the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis, the tale of a wealthy individual who discovers joy in the sharing of wealth is surely going to appeal to people more than ever.