Christmas is when we embrace well loved and deeply honoured traditions. Friends and family, goodness and wholesomeness, these are words synonymous with that joyous time of year. There are aspects that, to many, are near sacrosanct: carefully placing the star on top of the tree; the precision of a well wrapped present (though knowing it’ll be torn to shreds on the day); songs, music, and laughter. Our modern embrace of these yuletide traditions can almost all be traced back to one man, one story: Charles Dickens and his beloved A Christmas Carol. For many the very definition of Christmas. But some people just want to see the world burn.
Only a monster would wonder what would happen if you scripted, designed, rehearsed, and performed A Christmas Carol, but let one of the cast get roaringly drunk. Yet Sh!t-Faced Showtime have decided this is a line of thought that needs exploring. Well known for this approach, having previously boozily adapted other works, including Oliver Twist and, perhaps most famous – and arguably even more heretically – much Shakespeare, this is their fourth year presenting A Pissedmas Carol.
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Setting aside the central concept of a blotto cast member, the production itself is rather good. A campy adaptation, the use of Christmas music – modern and traditional – sung by the cast throughout shows an imaginative and fun approach. Scrooge singing ‘Stay Another Day’ with the Ghost of Christmas Present is inspired, as is the ‘Holy Night’ adaptation the Ghost of Marley sings to warn Scrooge of the horrors yet to come.
As with most productions of this type, though the cast can all carry a tune, there are a few stand out voices. Katy Baker manages to bring an East End music hall flair to her vocals, belting out her tunes and lending a feeling of Victorian authenticity to the proceedings, while Issy Wroe Wright’s solos create a genuine swell of emotion. Both play multiple roles throughout, as does Daniel Quirke, who gives a star turn as Mrs Fezziwig in the most pantomime moment of the night, and Hal Hillman, who – as the straight man to the rest of the cast – was an excellent sport and played his part well.
The only two members who play one character throughout are John Mitton as Scrooge and James Murfitt as Charles Dickens, acting as the narrator, as well as the one trying to keep Mitton, who is the drunken member of the cast, vaguely on track and safe from causing harm to himself or others.
While most on stage are in broadly authentic Dickensian garb, Murfitt greets us in top hat, red sequined jacket, and eye-wateringly tight golden legging that leave far less to the imagination than one might like. Looking like he’s waiting for the show to finish so he can get off to a late night screening of Rocky Horror, he is a very quick, visual reminder that what we are enjoying has far more to do with the world of cabaret than straight theatre. This is backed up by the fact that, though being completely sober, he is by far the most foul mouthed character throughout; very much an ‘in at the deep end’ baptism.
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A special mention must go to Charlotte Brooke, the pianist. On stage the whole performance, if hidden behind an upright disguised as a fireplace, Brooke provides musical accompaniment thought, never missing a beat. This is all the more impressive due to the fact that her drunken cast mate can’t say the same thing.
What of Mitton’s Scrooge? As the drunk he was always going to steal the show. As a long time veteran of Sh!t-Faced theatre, it’s hard to escape the thought that, though he is obviously pissed as the proverbial newt, he still knows what he’s doing to make the show work. But watching him flit between angry rants, bumbling bemusement, incoherent slurred speech, and the drunken pub philosopher is brilliant.
At times it’s funny in the same way as seeing your mate fall over in a puddle of sick outside a kebab shop at 2am on a Sunday morning is funny, but that’s still very, very funny. On the flip side, at one point Scrooge is at the back, watching the Cratchit family and, as he does so, he starts cuddling the Ghost of Christmas Present. It’s hard to know if it’s Scrooge or Mitton who wants a hug, but either way it’s incredibly sweet. The great joy though is watching the rest of the cast having to incorporate his drunken embellishments into the story, forcing them to improvise, adapt, take the story to unexpected places and conclusions, and thus entertain us all the more.
There’s also some fun audience participation, with specific members being given a few roles – mostly the ability to make Mitton have another drink. The cast also do their best to jockey everyone else to join in at times, the most notable moment being when ‘Fairy Tale of New York’ (The Pogues) melded into ‘500 Miles’ (The Proclaimers) and there was a few rounds of call and response. It’s at that point that, as an onlooker, one might wish that the audience were at least half as drunk as Scrooge. Sadly this is a London theatre, with London theatre bar prices. Still, by the end most people were at least clapping…
The actors’ roles and drunken cast member do change night to night, a fact that their livers must be happy about. Fortunately, you feel that this is a cast who know their trade well enough that they are not reliant on any one of them to pull it off.
No, this isn’t for the faint hearted or easily offended, and if you roll your eyes at bawdy humour you probably won’t enjoy it. But there is a strong sense of tradition in this production, of returning theatre to its music hall roots, and earlier. If you think Robert Armin didn’t have the odd drink before getting on stage and ignoring Shakespeare’s dialogue, you’re nuts.
With a chaotic mix of pantomime, cabaret, Dickens, and booze, A Pissedmas Carol is a hugely recommended night out.
A Pissedmas Carol is playing at the Leicester Square Theatre from 9th December 2024 to 11th January 2025.
