Writer: Charles Dickens
Adapter and Performer: Mat Jones
At this time of year, when most of the regional theatres in the country have just one thing on offer – the majority comprising garish costumes, dancing girls and unlikely couples crooning to the disapproval of an even more unlikely dame-parent, there is something entirely appealing about a one man show. Quite the tonic then to watch the remarkable Mat Jones tell the most famous of seasonal ghost stories – A Christmas Carol.
A solitary candle, perched on a writing desk bearing the legend ‘Scrooge and Marley’, flickers to illuminate the black-box space of the Friargate Theatre. There is no other staging but in this bravura performance, nothing more is needed – each scene is so clearly illustrated by both Dicken’s rich language and the excellence of the story telling.
Jones, in Victorian garb, walks, strolls and struts about the space embodying every character of the well-known tale – Jacob Marley’s face as it appears in the door knocker seems visible, poor Bob Cratchit and Scrooge’s ebullient nephew are clearly drawn. Although changes in accent or pitch are rare, it is never less than clear which characters are speaking and how the sentiments of their part of the narrative are received.
As Scrooge is visited by the sequence of ghosts, his demeanour begins to change and the scenes he visits become more and more lyrically described. The Christmas feast at the Cratchits is rendered so vividly as to make the audience salivate. It is no surprise then, with this level of joy and festivity being expressed that Scrooge succumbs to its charms and redemption, in the form of kindness to others, is inevitable.
On exiting, one audience member commented that this could have easily been an audio book or radio play. However, this powerful and enormously engaging piece of theatre, being so simply told, becomes an entirely immersive experience – a perfect antidote to the excesses of the season.
Reviewed on 12th December 2025.
Touring until 22nd December 2025.
