Middle Temple Hall, London – until 29 December 2022
Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert
4****
Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843 while studying law at Middle Temple. So how fantastic to see it performed today in Middle Temple Hall, still at the heart of London’s lawyer-land. You reach it along an ancient cobbled lane, and it’s quite a space, dating back to 1573, with a mighty hammerbeam roof, elaborately carved doors and panelled walls. It also happens to be where Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was first performed. This is the sixth year that Antic Disposition has put on A Christmas Carol here, and besides doing the show they’ve established a tradition of mince pies and mulled wine in the interval (served at ‘Bar Humbug’, naturally).
It’s worth going just to get a look at the hall (not normally open to the public), but this production would work anywhere. It stays close to the original text and is set firmly in early Victorian England, with an energetic little band to bump up the atmosphere. The actors break into song, carols and sometimes dance, which Dickens would surely have approved of. There are spooky ghosts, Victorian costumes and an adorable Tiny Tim (Dylan Hall on the day we were there, sometimes Ayrton English). Jack Heydon, as Scrooge’s nephew Fred, also plays the trumpet; Emma Fenney as Mrs Cratchit doubles up on the flute. Richard Dempsey is the put-upon Bob Cratchit; Scrooge is played by David Burt, who transforms nicely from wicked grump to golden-hearted softie, as he is led on a haunted night journey through past, present and future by the three ghosts.
The performance space is at floor level, with the audience on banked seating on three sides. If you’re in the front row it’s practically an immersive experience. If you’re further back, some of the words may get lost in the airy heights of the hall, but this old chestnut of a story carries you along anyway, and sends you out into the atmospheric surroundings of Middle Temple with a Christmassy spring in your step. Ben Horslen and John Riseboro are the directors; Nick Barstow is the composer and musical director.
Antic Disposition specialises in putting on productions in interesting, non-theatre spaces, and does a rather pleasant-sounding summer tour in France: see www.anticdisposition.co.uk.