Hitting the heights

Bryony Lavery's adaptation, seen here for the first time, reminds us just what a cracking tale Charles Dickens came up with.

And Chichester Festival Youth Theatre do the rest, giving it full value in a performance of confidence and skill.

With its eerily-lit opening moments '“ illuminated faces in the darkness '“ the production grabs right from the outset.

And it doesn't let you go until that flinty-hearted miser Ebenezer Scrooge has been processed and repackaged as a sweet, sentimental, gentle old gent.

It's a mighty transformation, but one Edward Eustace rose to magnificently on the first night, offering a detailed, persuasive portrait of a man whose life is turned utterly upside down by the things that go more than bump in the night.

Right from the off, this is a production keen to stress that this is a ghost story we are watching '“ and in the whites, blacks and greys of the opening scenes, there's something almost sinister about the dark-eyed Scrooge, not least when he breaks into the Sondheim-esque I Wish To Be Alone. Definitely shades of Sweeney Todd here.

But as he embarks on the path to redemption, so the colours break through '“ quite beautifully in the Fezziwig ball scene, superbly choreographed and full of warmth and life.

Moving into his present, the Cratchits at home are interwoven with nephew Fred's hearty hospitality '“ again superbly done and a key moment in Scrooge's dawning realisation that he's got things disastrously wrong.

Felix Mosse is great as Fred; and Sam O'Hanlon is an impressive Bob Cratchit. It would be so easy to play Cratchit as down-trodden and feeble. Sam shows the sheer strength and decency of a man deeply loved by his family.

And then as Scrooge is ghosted into his possible future, things once again take a more sinister turn '“ before Scrooge realises, with near-palpable relief, that he can yet avoid the sad, lonely death he's just been shown.

Eustace '“ who alternates in the role with Alfie Jones '“ is at his commanding best at this point.

Punctuating it all are Jason Carr's words and music '“ a huge part of the richness of this assured, inspiring production.

Last year's James And The Giant Peach left you wondering which peaks the Youth Theatre could possibly have left to scale. They've found them this year with a performance of astonishing maturity.

With a tale as loved as this one (we've surely each got our favourite version), inevitably you fear disappointment.

But yet again, the Youth Theatre have surpassed themselves '“ a triumph for everyone concerned, especially their co-directors Dale Rooks and Anna Ledwich, talent-spotters who turn enthusiasm and commitment into pure theatrical gold.

Great choreography, Simon Higlett's terrific set and fine, fine costumes complete the magic.

Until December 28.

Phil Hewitt

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