A joyful stage adaptation of the festive classic at the Octagon Bolton

Review by Hilary Dawes

Directed by Sarah Tipple, “A Christmas Carol” is a joyful new stage adaptation by Kate Ferguson and Susannah Pearse, which adds a fresh perspective, looking at the importance of love, family and kindness, whilst remaining faithful to the spirit of the original well-loved story.   

The  Dickensian atmosphere, with dimly lit windows and street lanterns surrounding the auditorium is combined with modern twists which are sure to appeal to younger audiences, especially the tartan-clad, scooter riding Ghost of Christmas Present, belting out a raucous anthem on the joy of Christmas pudding, accompanied by her neon-hooded backing group!   Never detracting from the original story, other additions showed us in flashback the reasons for Scrooge’s underlying sadness and misanthropic nature.

As Scrooge, David Birrell led the cast, perfectly capturing Scrooge’s grumpiness and mean-spiritedness, with a caustic wit and brilliant one-liners delivered with impeccable comic timing. 

The remaining characters were portrayed with remarkable versatility by the same four adult cast members, with William Donaldson as a wonderfully scary Jacob Marley, emerging creepily from the furniture, and ensnaring Scrooge in his chains.  William also played the meek and long-suffering Bob Cratchit.  Hannah Brown was the Ghost of Christmas Past in full-on sparkle, also playing Scrooge’s sister Fan and later Mrs Cratchit.  The gloriously noisy and lively Ghost of Christmas Present was brilliantly portrayed by Lucy Keirl, who also played Mrs Merrybritches in the opening scene, and Belle, Scrooge’s former fiancée.  Conor Neaves was Scrooge’s ever-forgiving nephew Fred, and he also played the exuberant Mr Fezziwig, invoking the Christmas spirit with a rousing party scene, encouraging a bit of audience participation as he did so.  Junior Octagon members gave accomplished performances in the children’s roles and the incredible singing voices of each cast member more than did justice to Susannah Pearse’s wonderful music and lyrics.

The talented creative team are to be commended, with spectacular sound and lighting effects from Keegan Curran and Semeon Miller, musical direction and arrangement by Sam Somerfield and Rebecca Applin along with set and costume design by Hannah Wolfe and choreography by Gemma Payne.

Don’t miss this heart-warming and uplifting show – a Christmas treat that’s sure to appeal to young and old alike.

Playing until Saturday 10 January 2026

Visit: https://octagonbolton.co.uk/events/a-christmas-carol-25-26#dates-and-times