Review: TINY TIM'S CHRISTMAS CAROL, Orange Tree Theatre

It's the season of A Christmas Carol, with numerous productions on stages around London and the rest of the UK. The Dickens classic shows no signs of fading away or losing its drawing power, and Becca Chadder's adaptation at the Orange Tree Theatre is a delightful addiction to the Scrooge-excess on display.

In Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol, it is Bob Cratchit (Callum Broome), former clerk to the reformed Scrooge, who has taken over the business and become grumpy at Christmas. When Tim (Chloë Sommer), now eleven and fully recovered from childhood illness, arrives at the counting house, he finds dad distracted by paperwork and even proposing to work through Christmas Day.

Cue a re-enactment of the original story, flanked by portraits of both Scrooge and Marley (additions by set designer Isabella Van Braeckel, who has also added festive flourishes to the main set of She Stoops to Conquer, which plays in this theatre in the evenings).

Sommer and Broome take on all the characters, displaying a flair for physical comedy and for both Dickens's original words and Chadder's changes and additions. Sommer is a lively and likeable performer who has great skill in switching characters quickly through vocal changes aided by a stoop or scowl. 

Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol is flanked on all four sides by an enthusiastic audience, who are requested to join in the fun at various points by adding additional sound effects. The lack of an ensemble for the Cratchits also necessitates our involvement with proceedings, and throughout there is a sense of fun and familiarity with the basic plot.

Broome makes a nervous Cratchit and a testy Scrooge, while having fun with a couple of female roles, and the interplay between the two performers is very strong, fast-paced, and makes the most of the entertainment possibilities of the text without losing the message.

Chadder (who also directs) has excised some characters (Belle, Fan, Fred) without losing the meat of the story. Scrooge's travels with the three ghosts and his initial encounter with Marley lose none of their significance, but are less dark and scary than productions aimed more at adults. I also enjoyed the occasional local references to Ham and Richmond.

With Jonathan Chan's lighting and Matt Eaton's sound design offering a ghostly magic, and enough amusing flourishes for an hour or so of laughter, this show can be highly recommended for its target audience of children under ten and for adults who may be looking for a break from their festive planning.

A tasty plum pudding of a show with just enough holly on top.

Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol continues at the Orange Tree Theatre until 6 January 2024 

Photo credits: Steve Gregson

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