SCROOGE. Directed by Lara Foot, with Marc Lottering, Shaleen Surtie-Richards, Andrew Buckland and Christo Davids. At the Baxter Theatre until January 25. STEYN DU TOIT reviews.
MARC Lottering is about to have one hell of a night. As title character in Scrooge he’s going to be visited by four phantoms, get dangled from the Baxter Theatre’s stage in nothing but his pyjamas and have his bottom pinched by a Ghost Pops-eating Shaleen Surtie-Richards.
Based on Charles Dickens’s beloved book and adapted into a multilingual local setting by Lara Foot, the events depicted in A Christmas Carol are colourfully and joyfully brought to life by a multi-talented cast that also includes Andrew Buckland, Christo Davids, Nur Abrahams and Poseletso Sejosingoe (all playing various characters).
Throw into the mix a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 70-strong children’s choir, Marcel Meyer’s bold costumes, a staggeringly elaborate set by Patrick Curtis as well as several magical illusions created by Chad Findlay, and you’d have to search very hard for a more exciting trip to the theatre this festive season.
Described by Dickens as “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching and covetous old sinner”, Lottering completely owns his role. Whether he’s counting coins, peeking out from behind curtains or being mean to orphans, he has the audience eating out of his hand. His character’s transformation over the course of the production feels sincere and on par with the novel’s ideologies.
Set in the fictional town of Canalla Dorpie (an early 19th century version of District Six), the play opens on Christmas eve and finds Scrooge allowing an assistant to take the next day off on condition he doesn’t have to pay him. “Christmas is nothing but a poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December,” he barks at clerk Bob Cratchit (Buckland), before delivering one of the novel’s most recognised lines: “Bah! Humbug!”
It is also revealed that the day marks the death of Scrooge’s former business partner, Jacob Marley (Buckland again), whose spirit later comes to haunt him at the stroke of midnight. Condemned to walk the Earth for eternity, finding neither rest or peace, Marley warns Scrooge that, unless he manages to change his tight-fisted and misanthropic ways, he’ll soon be suffering a similar fate.
After his friend’s wailing departure, Scrooge is then visited by the three Ghosts of Christmas over the course of the night. Portrayed by Davids (Past), Surtie-Richards (Present) and Buckland (Future) respectively, they’ll take turns showing him the error of his ways and helping him turn over a new leaf.
Foot has done a remarkable job in directing each cast member to be able to execute a multi-faceted performance. As pantomimes rely heavily on audience participation, she’s structured Scrooge in such a way that the viewer always feel included and “in” on the joke.
Actors change into their different costumes right there on stage, for instance, or will regularly break the fourth wall in order to talk about their real lives or to metaphorically wink at the audience.
“Aren’t you that guy who performed the show with a toilet seat on your head?” Sejosingoe asks Buckland in one scene (in reference to his show, Laugh the Buffalo). “There’s a man in chains on my bed and this time it’s not a good thing,” shrieks Lottering during another scene.
When it comes to the story’s darker themes such as death and poverty, Foot doesn’t shy away from the fact that they are part and parcel of life, yet never lingers too long on it before having a character crack a quip in order to lighten the mood.
Under the musical directorship of Camillo Lombard and emotionally led by Abrahams and Sejosingoe, the production contains several catchy musical numbers as well, each given a distinct local tang. Among them are old favourites Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee and Amazing Grace, as well as brand new creation The Gravy Song(written by Foot).
While it must have been a logistical nightmare during rehearsals, the children’s choir – made up of pupils from Kenmere Primary School Choir, Kensington Chorale Girls’ Choir, Herzlia Constantia, Injongo Public Primary School Choir, Reddam Constantia and De Vrije Zee Primary School Choir – is not only adorable but also crucial to the play’s success.
A special mention also has to go to Joseph Zelezniak (Herzlia Constantia), who plays the part of Tiny Tim with diligence (he’s one of three actors rotating in the role).
As the Baxter’s first festive production in over a decade, Scrooge is a sublime success. Staged in honour of Madiba’s legacy, Dickens’s immortal tale is often credited with restoring Christmas back to one of merriment and festivity in Britain and the US following a period of sobriety and somberness. It will undoubtedly do the same for Cape Town.
l Tickets are R110 to R170. To book, call Computicket at 0861 915 8000.