Scrooge cast spook shoppers at Henfield Late Night Shopping
On Friday, December 6, some of Henfield Theatre Company’s cast of Scrooge dressed in their Victorian costumes to raise awareness of their upcoming show at the Henfield Late Night Christmas shopping event.
Scrooge, a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, is taking place in The Henfield Hall between 9 and 11 January 2025.
The rain and high winds from Storm Darragh didn’t deter the cast members from handing out flyers and telling members of the public about the show.
Henfield Theatre Company, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, puts on between four and five shows each year. Scrooge is Henfield resident Mandy Ainsworth’s directorial debut.
Mandy runs the theatre company’s popular Theatre School in the holidays and all but one of the young actors are from the school.
The show, which has a 26-strong cast aged between eight and late 80s, also includes many seasoned theatre performers, with Scrooge played by Paul Crowe, and Mr and Mrs Cratchit played by husband and wife team Dave and Chloe Purchase.
The plot of Scrooge follows the story of A Christmas Carol, with miserly Ebenezer Scrooge being visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet-to-come. The musical is set on Christmas Eve in London in 1860, and will feature authentic costumes and sets reflecting the era.
Director Mandy said Scrooge will be an immersive, engaging production, which will include animated projections designed in collaboration with Stage Projections UK.
“We’re thrilled to be putting on Scrooge – it should be a fantastic production,” said Mandy.
“We’re really excited to show people our animated projections - we’ve got moving images, Marley’s face jumping out at the audience, lots of wonderful things happening! But equally, we’ve made sure it’s not too scary for the little ones.”
Ten year-old Small Dole resident Erin Watts, who is playing a Street Urchin, helped hand out flyers on Friday. This is her first show in front of a paying audience, but she is bringing to life skills that she has learnt at Mandy’s Theatre School.
“I’m looking forward to being in the show Scrooge,” said Erin. “This is my first show. Me and the urchins get to be annoying to Scrooge and run round him and make fun of him. I enjoyed the late night shopping because we got to dress up and promote Scrooge. I’m looking forward to taking part in other shows in the future.”
Erin’s mum Maddie said Erin has grown a lot in confidence since joining Henfield Theatre Company.
Tickets for Scrooge are on sale online from the Henfield Theatre Company website (https://www.henfieldtheatrecompany.com) or from Stevens Estate Agents on Henfield High Street.
The show takes place at The Henfield Hall on 9 and 10 January at 7.30pm, and on 11 January at 1pm and 6pm. Tickets for the two shows on Saturday 11 January are nearly sold out.