Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
David Edgar’s sharp script feels close to home in this exuberant, illusion-filled version of Dickens’ seasonal but socially conscious story
There are double economic reasons why theatregoers this winter will rarely be far away from a version of A Christmas Carol. The reliable popularity of Dickens’ 1843 story reassures playhouse accountants jittery about blows to the box office from Covid and the cost of living crisis, while writers and directors are drawn to the enduring resonance of the lament on wealth inequality.
As a politically engaged playwright, David Edgar (Destiny, Maydays) is ideal to mine the hard stones of social campaigning Dickens hid within his seasonal treat. But with the chancellor of the exchequer playing Scrooge to reverse his predecessor’s spooking of the markets, and old Ebenezer’s dismissal of charity and compassion seemingly the template for the home secretary, Edgar’s version bites even more than at its 2017 premiere and 2018 revival. Struggling to prevent their children starving, the Cratchits feel ever less fictionally and historically distant.
At the Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until 1 January.
