This fabulous adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by the Henrietta Barnett School had everything: music, dance and, of course, spectacular acting. The performance had the entire audience on the edge of their seats from the theatrical introduction by Charles Dickens to the feel-good original musical number ‘Awake’ and everyone left full of holiday spirit.
Acting standards were incredibly high on the opening night and the characters of Scrooge, his nephew Fred and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, in particular, were played incredibly well. The actors were every bit as dramatic and invested in their character as one would expect from a high-level production and they used their voices and facial expressions impressively to engage the audience.
Much of the success of this performance must be attributed to the musical side of the play. As well as featuring talented singers performing both solos and together, the interaction between the characters and the angel choir that accompanied them was almost seamless. The audience was invited to join in singing the carol ‘Hark! The herald angels sing’ and this helped increase the energy of the audience and keep us all excited. Accompanying, were students in the band and they played fantastically (even when they were covered in fake snow by the snow machine during the final song).
Aashi Shah, a student in year 10 who played a part of the Ghost of Christmas Future, described the school play as ‘the most amazing experience.’ Although the cast and crew all put in many hours of hard work, she said that ‘watching all our hard work pay off was the best feeling!’ and she ‘can’t wait to do it again next year.’
Of course, this play included some darker moments, particularly when the Ghost of Christmas Future showed Scrooge what would happen when he died if he kept behaving miserly and this was portrayed well by the effective lighting and props, including a tombstone with Scrooge’s name on it. The costumes were also used well as the Ghost of Christmas Future was played by a group together and they all wore black with striking red make-up which added to the sinister feel of these scenes.
This performance was definitely a highlight of the school year so far, with people from across the school being involved, and the production was of such a high quality, one can’t help but wonder what they will do next year that can top this extraordinary performance.
Eve Nicholls
