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Following a couple of seasonal shows that failed to live up to the quality mantle laid down by the Derby Playhouse when they decided to ditch the pantos and work on something different for Christmas, the re-opened venue has decided to revisit their last true Christmas hit and dust off A Christmas Carol again. Low and behold, like those old Christmas lights that you feel sure can't keep on going, this production once again illuminates the Playhouse stage and highlights everything that has been missing in their festive shows during the past couple of years.
It's a story that almost everyone knows and for me to wax lyrical about Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, three ghosts and enlightening redemption would be insulting to you. Instead let's concentrate on how director Stephen Edwards and designer Steven Richardson manage to put a little bit of Victorian London onto the Playhouse stage and breathe life into a perennial classic. If you remember the show last time then you may notice the odd change in its staging, but it's funny how your mind plays tricks and, whether old or new, this production still delivers. Whilst the show is very much an ensemble piece with seven of the professional actors taking on multiple roles, any production of a Christmas Carol stands or falls on the shoulders of one man.
 | | Want and Ignorance |
Whoever plays Ebenezer Scrooge carries with them the expectations of the audience and comparisons with actors who have played the role over the years and there is no mistaking that for anyone who has seen this show, Ben Roberts is, was and always will be the personification of the man As I said before it's a role that could quite easily lapse into cloying sentiment, but Roberts's Scrooge moves from being the ogress Christmas hating accountant spitting lines to his assistant Bob Cratchit ("You're too poor to have a merry Christmas!") into a genial man who sees the error of his ways, and is nothing short of superb.
 | | Scrooge and Belle |
The moment the ghost of Christmas past shows the break up of Scrooges relationship with the only girl he has ever loved illustrates the actor at his best, you can read more about the character's anguish on Scrooge's face than anything he says. As comforting as a glass of mulled wine, it may seem that this production has returned too quickly, however when a show is this good at capturing the essence of the festive season not even I can muster up a bah humbug. This is Christmas as it should be and will definitely 'Make thee, better man'. | 
