Northern Ballet’s A Christmas Carol

With a flawless opening night performance at Leeds Grand Theatre, Northern Ballet shines once again, kicking off the festive season with an entrancing re-imagined performance of Charles Dickens’ classic novel, A Christmas Carol.

First published as a novella in December 1843, A Christmas Carol is a timeless, wintery tale of moral quandary, redemption, and joy. Regarded as one of the most well-known British novels, the story of A Christmas Carol is a classic holiday staple.

Directed and devised by Christopher Gable CBE, and choreographed by Massimo Moricone, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming excitement and curiosity surrounding Northern Ballet’s adaptation of this much-loved classic. I knew that previous Northern Ballet productions had proven the bar was set high for this year’s winter tale.

From the get-go, the setting engulfs the stage and immerses the audience in Victorian-era London on Christmas Eve. Characters of every caliber walk in flurries across the stage, from shoppers searching for last-minute presents, to carol singers collecting money for the poor. Ebenezer Scrooge (Jonathan Hanks) then arrives, setting the scene. Strict, miserable, and hunched. It wasn’t just Jonathan’s skillfully (and convincingly!) applied stage makeup that transformed him into the Scrooge that we have all come to know. His moody, elderly, and almost sinister demeanor and movements are what truly sealed the deal.

Bob Cratchit (Harris Beattie), Scrooge’s clerk, exudes kind-heartedness and warmth from the moment he appears on stage. His loving attitude overshadows that of Scrooge, as he struggles to end his working day on Christmas Eve, to return home to his family. Scrooge’s harsh control only slightly diminishes his optimism; he dances joyfully around the stage, trying not to let his light be dimmed.

Throughout the performance, we meet everyone’s favourite well-known characters, The Ghost of Christmas Past (Saeki Shirai), Present (Harry Skoupas), and Christmas Yet to Come (Andrew Tomlinson). Ebenezer Scrooge’s confrontation with his miserable ways forces him to come to terms with a lonely, foul, and somber future unless he changes his life, embraces the festivities, and cherishes those he should hold dear.

Dominique Larose never fails to be a standout performer, moving seamlessly, showcasing the hurt that Young Scrooge’s (George Liang) first love, Belle, feels, as she rejects his marriage proposal due to his ever-increasing infatuation with greed, losing himself and his aspirations to the need for power and gain. George Liang portrays Scrooge’s anger perfectly, as he becomes more and more distressed, in turn rendering him powerless, even more so without Belle by his side.

The place where Northern Ballet truly excels is through their stage and costume design. Performance after performance, season after season, they provide the audience with stunning visuals. From lifelike stage settings, to handmade costuming, these are the little details that make their performances that much more special. I particularly enjoyed scenes taking place in Scrooge’s bedroom, where a beyond large broken window towered from the floor to the ceiling, enhancing the feeling that something lay beyond the panes, and that a sense of something greater was casting shadows upon Scrooge.

The souls were also particularly striking, their phantom-like appearance and movements creating a chilling, yet beautiful moment, as the audience held breaths of suspense caused by the haunting figures. Wrapping around each other, grasping for Scrooge with long skeletal fingers.

A pre-recorded orchestral soundtrack accompanied this year’s Northern Ballet production of A Christmas Carol unlike previous years’ festive performance of The Nutcracker. Due to extreme budget cuts and lack of access to necessary funding, The Northern Ballet has faced cutting some of the Sinfonia’s touring work. With audience members taking to campaign page Megaphone to discuss their concerns, “A beautiful ballet, but a performance of this calibre deserves a live orchestra. Keep music live!” one viewer commented, ” It just wasn’t the same without a live orchestra,” added another.

A Christmas Carol was another one of the many festive treats that Northern Ballet is so deservedly renowned for, and it’s clear why! A heavy dose of Christmas spirit infused the performance, making Dickens’ tale come alive—the perfect way to get excited for Christmas, or beat the January blues!

I know what tickets I’ll be putting on my Christmas list…

Performances of A Christmas Carol concluded on 4 January. If you missed this year’s festive production, be sure to grab yourself a ticket to Northern Ballet’s next production of Jane Eyre, based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte, running from 14 March 2025 at Leeds Grand Theatre.

To book tickets for Jane Eyre, click here: https://northernballet.com/jane-eyre

To book tickets for Romeo and Juliet, click here: https://northernballet.com/romeo-and-juliet

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Words by Mia Stapleton

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(Image Credit: Emily Nuttall)