Leicester Square Theatre – until 15 January 2022
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
Sh!t-Faced Showtime’s chaotic version of A Christmas Carol is simply hilarious.
Before each show, one member of the cast drinks as much as they can, and the rest have to cope with the aftermath on stage. Presided over by a sequinned Charles Dickens, who hands out props for audience members to decide when to give the actor another drink, the audience are encouraged to be loud and rowdy. On press night, the drunk was playing Scrooge, causing a swerve in the plot within minutes as he gave one clerk Christmas Day off, promised Bob Cratchit a Diwali break and arranged for Gavin to cover the office.
Christmas classics from Wham and, of course, Slade are scattered throughout the show, given new lyrics and are weirdly brilliant sung in Victorian costume. The production goes full adult panto with Mrs Fezziwig’s appearance, and the cast coped brilliantly improvising around drunk Scrooge’s actions and lines. As the ghosts appeared to show Scrooge the error of his ways, Scrooge got frisky with Marley, came out as gay and ended up providing a running commentary and a (thoroughly deserved) appreciation thread about the cast’s ability to make call-backs to his ridiculous earlier contributions. Press night’s ending was definitely not as Dickens wrote it!
Rude, silly and fantastically unpredictable, A Pissedmas Carol is the perfect night out with friends – Christmas entertainment that will make you sob with laughter.