It lingers in its chills, atmosphere, and quiet reminder of the compassion at the heart of Dickens’ timeless tale.Rating
Good
As the audience settles into the theatre, there’s already a sense that Mark Gatiss’ A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story is going to take Dickens’ classic somewhere darker. It’s a refreshing approach to a story most of us know so well we can recite half the lines in our sleep. And in a time when generosity and human connection sometimes feel worryingly rare, the moral spine of Dickens’ tale lands with sharper relevance.
Gatiss clearly wants to excavate the ghost story beneath the festive tradition, and that instinct pays off. The lighting design does enormous heavy lifting, transforming the stage into something alive and unstable. Flashes, shadows, and bold atmospheric shifts give the ghosts room to be both magical and genuinely unnerving. Whilst the Ghost of Christmas Past arrives with such horror-film intensity she feels like she’s wandered over from The Conjuring rather than Victorian London – ironic, maybe, as she’s supposed to embody memory, and this version is definitely hard to forget. Neil Morrissey’s Jacob Marley delivers one of the production’s most electrifying moments. It’s exactly the kind of Gothic horror Gatiss promised, and it works brilliantly, but nothing else in the production quite matches that visceral intensity.
The script balances humour and menace wonderfully. Gatiss understands that horror needs release valves, and the comedic beats land at exactly the right moments. The dance sequences inject genuine joy and festive warmth into the darker proceedings – there’s something wonderfully life-affirming about watching characters whirl and celebrate, a reminder of the community and connection Scrooge has shut himself away from. Visually there’s strong craft throughout: richly detailed costumes, shifting stacks of filing boxes that morph fluidly between scenes, actors ringing doorbells themselves as they enter Scrooge & Marley’s office.
Yet this richly eerie world flickers out as quickly as it appears. The narrator (Michael Mears) sets the tone beautifully in Act One, then vanishes almost entirely in Act Two, only to sit there motionless, his purpose unclear. Matthew Forbes’ animal puppetry was amazingly done: a ghostly hound, tiny horrifying skeletons peeking from behind the Ghost of Christmas Present. But these elements appear once and disappear like apparitions themselves, their impact dissolving before it can accumulate.
However, Alexandra Palace’s acoustics are the production’s most persistent obstacle. Lines vanish into the vast space, muddying emotional beats and dampening spectral atmosphere. Pacing falters too, some scene transitions really feel awkward and disjointed, breaking the atmospheric spell rather than sustaining it.
Then there’s the blocking. Scrooge, who should anchor every scene emotionally, spends far too much time standing passively at the sidelines, barely reacting unless delivering dialogue. It doesn’t read as reflective contemplation, just oddly static. Other characters suffer similar fates, stranded in moments that demand energy and interaction, undercutting the otherwise dynamic staging.
This is where the production falters. Scrooge’s journey only works if we witness him absorbing each ghost’s lesson, wrestling with what he sees, feeling the weight of his choices. Instead, he seems mentally and physically absent – a bystander to his own redemption. By the time his personality shifts, the transformation feels unearned.
Still, what the show gets right matters. Its commitment to a more spectral take gives it distinct identity, and the visual craft makes this retelling textured and alive. Most people will go because it’s A Christmas Carol at Christmas, and on that front, the production delivers well. It captures the festive spirit and Dickens’ moral heart while adding genuine thrills: the kind of atmospheric theatre that makes for a memorable family outing.
Adapted by Mark Gatiss
Directed by Adam Penford
Lighting design by Philip Gladwell
Design by Paul Wil
Puppets by Matthew Forbes
A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story plays at Alexandra Palace Theatre until Sunday 4 January.
