Review: Guy Masterson’s A Christmas Carol

This festive Friday, I settled down in the comfortable upstairs theatre at the Assembly Roxy to listen to Guy Masterson’s A Christmas Carol.

Guy Masterson is probably best known for Under Milk Wood and Animal Farm but was also a producer at the Edinburgh Fringe’s The Shark is Broken before it transferred to London and won a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.

A Christmas Carol is a classic by Charles Dickens, nearly 180 years old.

So, Guy Masterson’s A Christmas Carol is the one-man performance of the story. And it’s good!

All Masterson uses is a chair – which I’m fine with – and a floating hook – which freaked me out a little.

You’ll see what I mean at the start with the wooden chair in the spotlight and a hanging coat. That coat is used like a magic spell by Masterson to transform into Scrooge, ghosts and Londoners. That means there are times that hook just dangles in the darkness and at just about eye level.

Anyway! There are touches, I suppose, of horror in A Christmas Carol, given there are three ghosts and the promise of death, but Guy Masterson‘s performance here is a classic.

A Christmas Carol vibe

I was impressed by Masterson’s energy. I think he was suffering from a cold, but that did not stop him from skipping around the stage (at one point, he was a whole room of dancers), charging around and jumping off that versatile wooden chair.

Forget the silent threat of the dangling hook; a Christmas Carol put me in the festive spirit and made me wonder whether going to see a play or performance like this to start the season should become a tradition! It might be better than #ADuckaDay, which I’m currently doing from my cheap rubber duck advent calendar.

A Christmas Carol felt professional, too. Masterson radiates experience. There are also some gentle and clever audio effects for when the ghosts speak which make a difference. There’s light touches of background sounds too – like a high-budget Audible radio drama.

It helped that I had a comfortable seat at Roxy Upstairs and a can of Bones, a beer, from the Roxy Snug below the theatre. I, like so many generations, know A Christmas Carol story well so I could just settle back and enjoy the show. I would have bought a second beer during the break, but I hadn’t won the lotto.

A Christmas Carol logistics

The show is only in Edinburgh for two nights, 13th and 14th, with tomorrow’s tickets from £16. After that, Guy and the ghosts move to Bath.

There’s a break in the middle, and the performance lasts for about 80 minutes.

The Roxy is on Roxburgh Place so I wouldn’t drive. I also wouldn’t expect to get dinner before or after unless I had booked. It’s a busy part of the time, especially on a Christmas weekend.

Things to do in the city centre

The Roxy is near Surgeons’ Hall, Festival Theatre and Pleasance; however, you’re unlikely to mix and match those in one evening.

Venues that caught my attention nearby are Tuk Tuk, Pizza Posto and Brass Monkey. I’ve been to each a few times and recommend.

Overall

Guy Masterson’s A Christmas Carol at the Assembly Roxy is a powerful performance of a classic. It’s a great way to get into the festive spirit.

I doubt a solo play will hold the attention of young teens and certainly, the audience leaned more towards the grey hair than not, but there was a mix. The applause was long and genuine and this blogger heard nothing but praise as couples shuffled down the stairs to file out at the end.

The tickets are very fairly priced and worth snapping up, but the bar costs won’t make any friends.

My ticket was provided for free to enable this review.