Look Upon me and Know me Better Sir!

It’s a new venture for the National Theatre of Scotland, but not an alien one. 5 years in the pipeline, Graham McLaren’s adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the 5-year old company’s first attempt at a Christmas show. Note the term, Christmas show – this is definitely a not a pantomime…

I managed to sneak along to a press call for this new production, and had the chance to speak with the cast and creative team. “The genesis for this was a conversation with Vicky Featherstone and John Tiffany about 4 or 5 years ago, when we discussed the possibility of a Christmas show. They said that NTS probably wouldn’t do that, as we’re a company without a home. How would we make a show which wasn’t poaching audiences from other shows?” says Graham McLaren, associate Director of NTS. The solution has been to create an intimate studio for just 90 spectators inside the Govan Town Hall, now known as “Film City”. It’s a high tech space with hidden speakers, state of the art yet subtle lighting systems, all disguised by an exquisite set – before they even start you can tell that this is a Christmas show with real class, as suited to adults as it is to children.

We are treated to a glimpse at a few scenes, the appearance of some of Gavin Glover’s incredible puppets being highlights. “Apart from a love of Dickens, I had no real intention to make this show. It was more about a problem solving exercise, but it did give me the opportunity to work with Gavin, who I’ve been headhunting for a while.” Says McLaren, who fresh from the success of his recent production of Ena Lamont Stewart’s “Men Should Weep” exudes an air of confidence and good humour. Clearly this cast and creative team, featuring Benny Young in the role of Scrooge, have gelled well together – with those citing themselves as puppeteers working effortlessly with those who proudly state that they are “actors”. This is a piece, however, where that boundary is extremely blurred. No attempt is made to hide the actor/puppeteers as they operate these life-size, gaunt looking marionettes, which appear from nooks and crannies in Scrooge’s mahogany office as if my magic. In full Victorian garb, Puppeteer Josh Elwell tells me “You have to push it, and see how much you can get away with when operating the puppet without being distracting”.

As the ghost of Christmas past zooms around the room and into the audience, its head illuminated by warm, incandescent light there is a notable chill in the air. You aren’t imagining it, the entire studio is temperature controlled. Someone else remarks that the room even smells old: McLaren quips that Benny Young, his senior, is responsible for that before admitting that there is no technological alchemy at work – it’s just the smell of the old furniture. Some might cry that a Christmas show, especially an adaptation of such a well-loved tale, is yet another safe bet by the National Theatre. After the sell-out tour of Higher Drama favourite “Men Should Weep”, and repeated success of Burke and Tiffany’s “Black Watch” it might be said that success with such shows in nearly guaranteed – they might be right, at the time of writing the show is nearly entirely sold out. Despite that, though, this still feels totally worthwhile – a spooky and beautifully crafted take on this classic work of literature, and a fitting introduction to the National theatre for those children (and adults) who might feel too old for a traditional pantomime (oh no they’re not…).