Grand Canal Theatre

Do we really need another version of A Christmas Carol, the perennially adaptable Dickens classic? Who cares? Bob Tomson's musical production is about as spectacular a version as you are ever going to see. The essential story of Ebenezer Scrooge's redemption remains reassuringly familiar, while writer Leslie Bricussse takes a less than memorable approach to the music, book and lyrics. However, there are some fantastic feats of technical wizardry in Tomson's assured and ambitious staging that you just would not see outside of the big-budget commercial theatre setting.

Paul Farnsworth’s Victorian London setting plays with depth and perspective to provide a visual stunning backdrop to the action, against which changing locations slide on and off the stage with ease. Digital projections enhance rather than detract from the material setting, while also establishing an uncanny atmosphere from which illusionist Paul Kieve conjures some incredible magical feats.

Dickens’ ghostly characters vanish and reappear like real shape-shifting spectres, and objects arrive on the stage out of nowhere. There are sharp intakes of breath from the audience and spontaneous applause, but the cinematic fluidity with which Tomson keeps the whole production moving ensures that action is never sacrificed to illusion.

Tommy Steele steals the show easily as Scrooge. Perhaps because his redemption is assured – or perhaps because of his off-stage persona – his Scrooge is sympathetic rather than villainous, while Steele’s energy and vocal delivery never lag throughout the two-hour show. An impressive ensemble fills out minor characters to create a sense of a bustling city, while a cast of local children give us a sense of an entire social world.

Scrooge is a little too sophisticated for very young children, but the 7s and overs – from teenagers to adults – will be more than impressed by the fact that all this song and dance and thrilling trickery is happening live, in front of them, on stage.

Until January 2