A Christmas Carol

“A night of pure theatrical warmth, ritualistic and communal, with a performance of incredible clarity and generosity at its centre. Like Christmas itself, bloody hard to resist.”

“There’s a proper sense of joy in the room when the snow starts falling. During the Christmas dinner scene, all parachuting sprouts and sliding potatoes, Eccleston seems to be having the time of his life, and you can feel it too. ‘A Christmas Carol’ is a hoot.”

“‘A Christmas Carol’ teaches us anything, it’s that hindsight is a wonderful thing, and if you are seeing this awesome adaptation for the first time, you’ll definitely be properly bowled over by it.”

“The first half was a bit too broad and noisy to tug on your heartstrings … happily, the second half stepped up into a higher register, thanks to Christopher Nightingale’s joyful choral arrangements. The Christmas miracle arrives in the manner of a very posh panto … and it hits the spot.”

“a terrific spectacle – yet the show’s customary stabbing potency doesn’t hit home soon”

““ ‘A Christmas Carol’ is a story of personal transformation and rebirth. Eccleston’s Scrooge resists this possibility almost until it’s too late. Yet when it comes, it’s all the sweeter for the joyful surprise Ecclestone finds in it. The falling away of his disillusionment, like peel from an onion, is pure joy to behold. Elsewhere, Matthew Warchus’s production retains its vitality and cheer, despite by now being a slickly honed operation that moves at times far too fast.””

“This show’s familiarity aside, the cupboard for five-star Scrooges is now looking a touch bare.”

“Warchus's mix of Dickensian moralising and theatrical enchantment still soothes the most crochety of souls. The importance of living a good life … may be reinforced at every turn, but frankly that's no bad thing at all.”

“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be pelted with vegetables. Even the heartless Scrooge’s in our current government couldn’t fail to have their cockles thoroughly toasted by the end.”

“This show tugs shamelessly but unsentimentally on the heartstrings”

“Jack Thorne’s version of the familiar tale is richly textured and shamelessly emotive, full of song and heart. This year’s staging feels shorter and more hard-hitting than the 2017 original and 2018 reprise.”

““It will probably come as no surprise when I say that Christopher Eccleston makes an excellent Scrooge...Yes, he captures the surliness and pain of Dickens’ great miser with ease, but it’s towards the latter stages when he’s enraptured by the possibility of change that Eccleston really shines.””

“It is all ... both magical and evocative of the celebratory season. It is also one of those productions where everything ... comes together to create an absorbing and assured telling of a story that has arguably become over-familiar.”

“Maybe it's the after effects of the pandemic and everything we've all been through, but I don't recall any iteration of this beloved, yet still hard-hitting, story being quite this moving.”

“It's a very 21st century take on the classic … it oddly has the effect of making Dickens more sentimental and more moralising than he is. It also seems to strip some of his anger out of the tale, rendering it more ... easily palatable.”

““...director Matthew Warchus’ production is a fast-paced, slick and moving festive treat...Warchus’ production is breathless which means some events get swallowed up a little too quickly...But from the satsumas and mince pies that are handed out to the interplay between cast and audience, it feels like a big hug. We spill into the streets with a broad smile, believing that people can change.””

“Christopher Nightingale’s ingenious arrangements of the carols performed throughout is the sprig of holly on what remains possibly one of the best Christmas shows you’ll ever see.”

“Matthew Warchus’ production seems ... to want to have its Christmas cake and eat it. Many of the lines hit even harder now than they did in 2017, with Dickens’ ideas about society, and how it cares for its poor and vulnerable, ringing out like a bell.”

“this production is by no means evangelical or overly preachy.”

““Alan Berry and Mike Steel’s musical direction is seamless. There is an abundance of free mince pies and bell-ringing. Ditch your inner Scrooge and head over.””

“It begins and ends well. Yet there’s a Dickens-sized hole in the middle. Using multiple narrators from the cast is a distraction. There are some delightful touches, though.”

“Even though I’ve seen it several times before, I still leave grinning from ear to ear and with tears in my eyes. Every year, it welcomes you back like a warm, familiar embrace.”

“Like Scrooge himself, A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic melts your heart, just as winter sets in. It is heartfelt, nostalgic, magical and meaningful...A truly special production that is perfect for this time of year.”

“A truly magical production, it has the ability to make even the grumpiest of souls feel like a kid at Christmas with its sense of wonder.”