With Britain seemingly on the verge of a return to Dickensian times, the RSC’s revival of its acclaimed version of A Christmas Carol could hardly be more opportune. Three of the production’s key players reveal why the enduring tale of redemption and compassion is more relevant than ever this festive season...
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s festive production could hardly be more pertinent. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’ tale of poverty, social inequality, compassion and redemption, was written in 1843 but resonates louder than ever at the moment, with Britain in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis and economic recession.
The contemporary context isn’t lost on any of the key players in the new production, which is a revival of David Edgar’s socially conscious adaptation that played to packed houses in Stratford in 2017 and ’18. This year’s version features a new cast, led by former Young One Adrian Edmondson as Scrooge and TV regular Sunetra Sarker as the Ghost of Christmas Present. Both are acutely aware of the story’s depressing relevance in 2022.
“A Christmas Carol is an extraordinary book,” says Adrian, who returns to the RSC after starring in Twelfth Night five years ago. “It’s been in print continuously since 1843, so it must be saying something very important that catches our imagination. A lot of people think it’s about Scrooge and ghosts, which of course it is, but at the heart of it, it’s about poverty and our individual reaction to it. So it couldn’t be more relevant today than it has been in the past 30 to 40 years - not since rationing really. Actual poverty in our streets, people at food banks. That’s the driving force of it for Dickens - he’d read a report on poverty and was considering writing this as a dry pamphlet, but wrote it as a story because he thought it would connect more. And, of course, it does. So it’s hard to find a play that’s more relevant, especially one you might enjoy.”
Playwright David Edgar talks of it being a “universal story of how benevolence is stronger than greed”, and of his determination to keep “Dickens and his ambitions” front and centre in the adaptation.
Sunetra, meanwhile, sees the importance of telling a tale that remains so relevant.
“Heating and eating are all we see in the newspapers, and the energy crisis is the first headline we’re reading about, hearing about and talking about,” says the actor familiar to millions via roles in TV shows such as Casualty (where she spent 10 years as Dr Zoe Hanna), Cold Feet, No Angels, Ackley Bridge, Sherwood and The Bay. “The state of society, the way the world ignores and neglects what the real wants and needs are, and how ignorance plays a role in that - it’s all tied up in this story. So without realising it, we’re right on the button.”
The production represents Sunetra’s RSC debut (“it’s an honour to be able to tread the boards where so many great actors have been before”), as well as her first time on stage in nearly two decades. And the likeable scouser - the accent remains strong - is loving every minute of it, even when I point out that she could hardly have chosen a more prestigious or high-profile arena in which to make her return.
“I hadn’t thought about it like that, but now you say it, maybe I should! But it’s been more of an honour really - it’s such a gift to be invited to be part of the company at the RSC. It’s always been a big deal - even coming from an Indian family, everybody knew about the Royal Shakespeare Company.”
She says her return to the stage has largely been prompted by her children getting older - the long, inconvenient hours and the travel involved would have been too big a commitment when they were young.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do more stage - everyone wants to do more stage because you get that immediate intensity and reaction from the crowd that’s just joyous. You can’t bottle that sort of stuff because it’s so real. It’s like having a really good night out with your friends - you can’t pretend to have a really good night out with your friends!
“So it feels like I’ve missed out on some wonderful moments on stage, but I’m here giving it my best. It’s a big show, there are a lot of set pieces, and I’m just getting my stage memory back in shape. But I’ve never felt more welcomed or supported by a company of strangers before - they’ve been absolutely delightful, and I’m just trying to keep up because they’re all so very good.”
Sunetra also acknowledges the importance of her character in the play; the Ghost of Christmas Present is widely regarded as the mouthpiece for Dickens’ own views.
“I’ve chosen to make her a Northern, grounded, earthy activist. She’s like a nosey news reporter going ‘Look, Scrooge, this is what’s going on in the world today, not yesterday or tomorrow, but today.’ I’d like to say she’s got a sunshine and brightness about her, but she’s also weighted in the reality of ‘You need to get your act together, shape up.’”
And Adrian can’t wait to get his act together as the old miser at the heart of the story.
“I’m really looking forward to playing Scrooge. Why, you might ask, would you watch a show about a really horrible person? You watch it because you’re cheering him on, urging him to become a better person. You’re on his side, you want him to turn. I think that makes him one of the most fundamentally interesting characters in literature, and a great part to play.”
And as much as we’ve been talking about the disheartening timeliness of the show in terms of the current prevalence of food poverty and economic hardship in society, there’s plenty of positivity to be found throughout the production, as well as in its redeeming denouement.
Sunetra is “loving the magic that a show like this brings - the set design, the music, the dance”, while David Edgar is quick to praise director Rachel Kavanaugh’s “wonderful production - combining a glorious set with dazzling choreography and musical score”.
He also believes the tale shines a light on the positives that can be found while living in darker times.
“When we premiered the show in 2017, millions were already relying on food banks, and beggars haunted city streets. Covid and the cost-of-living crisis have made economic inequality - and raw poverty - an even more pressing reality. And yet - in the way the nation came together around the NHS to combat the pandemic - we have been reminded of the selflessness and generosity of spirit which lies at the heart of Dickens’ enduringly optimistic story.”
With Britain seemingly on the verge of a return to Dickensian times, the RSC’s revival of its acclaimed version of A Christmas Carol could hardly be more opportune. Three of the production’s key players reveal why the enduring tale of redemption and compassion is more relevant than ever this festive season...
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s festive production could hardly be more pertinent. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’ tale of poverty, social inequality, compassion and redemption, was written in 1843 but resonates louder than ever at the moment, with Britain in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis and economic recession.
The contemporary context isn’t lost on any of the key players in the new production, which is a revival of David Edgar’s socially conscious adaptation that played to packed houses in Stratford in 2017 and ’18. This year’s version features a new cast, led by former Young One Adrian Edmondson as Scrooge and TV regular Sunetra Sarker as the Ghost of Christmas Present. Both are acutely aware of the story’s depressing relevance in 2022.
“A Christmas Carol is an extraordinary book,” says Adrian, who returns to the RSC after starring in Twelfth Night five years ago. “It’s been in print continuously since 1843, so it must be saying something very important that catches our imagination. A lot of people think it’s about Scrooge and ghosts, which of course it is, but at the heart of it, it’s about poverty and our individual reaction to it. So it couldn’t be more relevant today than it has been in the past 30 to 40 years - not since rationing really. Actual poverty in our streets, people at food banks. That’s the driving force of it for Dickens - he’d read a report on poverty and was considering writing this as a dry pamphlet, but wrote it as a story because he thought it would connect more. And, of course, it does. So it’s hard to find a play that’s more relevant, especially one you might enjoy.”
Playwright David Edgar talks of it being a “universal story of how benevolence is stronger than greed”, and of his determination to keep “Dickens and his ambitions” front and centre in the adaptation.
Sunetra, meanwhile, sees the importance of telling a tale that remains so relevant.
“Heating and eating are all we see in the newspapers, and the energy crisis is the first headline we’re reading about, hearing about and talking about,” says the actor familiar to millions via roles in TV shows such as Casualty (where she spent 10 years as Dr Zoe Hanna), Cold Feet, No Angels, Ackley Bridge, Sherwood and The Bay. “The state of society, the way the world ignores and neglects what the real wants and needs are, and how ignorance plays a role in that - it’s all tied up in this story. So without realising it, we’re right on the button.”
The production represents Sunetra’s RSC debut (“it’s an honour to be able to tread the boards where so many great actors have been before”), as well as her first time on stage in nearly two decades. And the likeable scouser - the accent remains strong - is loving every minute of it, even when I point out that she could hardly have chosen a more prestigious or high-profile arena in which to make her return.
“I hadn’t thought about it like that, but now you say it, maybe I should! But it’s been more of an honour really - it’s such a gift to be invited to be part of the company at the RSC. It’s always been a big deal - even coming from an Indian family, everybody knew about the Royal Shakespeare Company.”
She says her return to the stage has largely been prompted by her children getting older - the long, inconvenient hours and the travel involved would have been too big a commitment when they were young.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do more stage - everyone wants to do more stage because you get that immediate intensity and reaction from the crowd that’s just joyous. You can’t bottle that sort of stuff because it’s so real. It’s like having a really good night out with your friends - you can’t pretend to have a really good night out with your friends!
“So it feels like I’ve missed out on some wonderful moments on stage, but I’m here giving it my best. It’s a big show, there are a lot of set pieces, and I’m just getting my stage memory back in shape. But I’ve never felt more welcomed or supported by a company of strangers before - they’ve been absolutely delightful, and I’m just trying to keep up because they’re all so very good.”
Sunetra also acknowledges the importance of her character in the play; the Ghost of Christmas Present is widely regarded as the mouthpiece for Dickens’ own views.
“I’ve chosen to make her a Northern, grounded, earthy activist. She’s like a nosey news reporter going ‘Look, Scrooge, this is what’s going on in the world today, not yesterday or tomorrow, but today.’ I’d like to say she’s got a sunshine and brightness about her, but she’s also weighted in the reality of ‘You need to get your act together, shape up.’”
And Adrian can’t wait to get his act together as the old miser at the heart of the story.
“I’m really looking forward to playing Scrooge. Why, you might ask, would you watch a show about a really horrible person? You watch it because you’re cheering him on, urging him to become a better person. You’re on his side, you want him to turn. I think that makes him one of the most fundamentally interesting characters in literature, and a great part to play.”
And as much as we’ve been talking about the disheartening timeliness of the show in terms of the current prevalence of food poverty and economic hardship in society, there’s plenty of positivity to be found throughout the production, as well as in its redeeming denouement.
Sunetra is “loving the magic that a show like this brings - the set design, the music, the dance”, while David Edgar is quick to praise director Rachel Kavanaugh’s “wonderful production - combining a glorious set with dazzling choreography and musical score”.
He also believes the tale shines a light on the positives that can be found while living in darker times.
“When we premiered the show in 2017, millions were already relying on food banks, and beggars haunted city streets. Covid and the cost-of-living crisis have made economic inequality - and raw poverty - an even more pressing reality. And yet - in the way the nation came together around the NHS to combat the pandemic - we have been reminded of the selflessness and generosity of spirit which lies at the heart of Dickens’ enduringly optimistic story.”
by Steve Adams