The Citizens Theatre Free Essay Example

This year the Citizens Theatre, which is a professional theatre, performed the well known pantomime “Scrooge”. I have been to the Citizens Theatre many times previous to seeing “Scrooge”. The Citizens Theatre is internationally recognized theatre with a proscenium arch stage and shows a variety of different plays, some very traditional and some very contemporary. As a child I was always amazed by the set and costumes used in the Citz’s pantomimes, it seamed that no corners were cut.

So with this in mind I expected, not so much of a panto, but more of a theatrical performance with great visuals and I would say I was correct to say this.

I am fairly familiar with the pantomime “Scrooge” adapted from the Charles Dickens’ book “A Christmas Carol” as I have seen it in other theatres prior to this year at the Citz. The Citz’s, I thought was maybe not as traditional as the other versions but it was equally, if not more so, entertaining.

I went to the pantomime twice whilst it was on, first with my peers and then with young children. IT was very interesting to see how they both reacted.

The Story of “Scrooge” is about a man called Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy business man full of greed counting every penny entering and parting his pocket. On Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, who has come to warn Scrooge of what awaits him if he carries on with his greediness.

That evening Scrooge is to be visited by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Firstly the ghost of Christmas past comes to show him of the happy times before his self-inflicted loneliness caused by his greed, as a child and as a young man.

Then the ghost Christmas present shows Scrooge the Cratchit family. The Cratchit family is very poor and consists of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s employee, his wife and their four children including their son Tiny Tim who is extremely ill. Scrooge is forced to realize that all the people around his fine it difficult to speak well of him. The ghost of Christmas future tells scrooge nothing but shows him of his death burdening all the people around him with the greed he left behind as they celebrate his death.

Seeing this awful future that he himself could be creating, Scrooge decides to change for the better, rewarding workers with a pay rise and giving money to charity he had previously changed and donating a rich Christmas feast to the Cratchit family. The quality of the set was amazing as it was very grand and the size of the stage meant that the set could be quite big without being pretentious. All around the stage is painted Scrooges favorite phrase “Bah Humbug” in italic writing.

At first there was just an office set up with a window through which you could see all the Characters entering the scene, I thought that this made the action more realistic and was quite interesting. The window was also used for carol singers and the audience could just faintly hear then which made it feel like you were actually in the office. When Scrooge goes home the office wall is raised to reveal a whole new set which is even more spectacular. A set of stone stairs lead up to Scrooge’s bedroom, luxuriously decorated compared to his office that is on a 15 foot tall platform.

The most exciting part of the set was when Christmas present arrives with his set, a whole new room painted red into which he is camouflaged, just rolling on moving Scrooge’s room away. This room is decorated with lots of Christmas decorations. The one prop used by Scrooge a lot was a light bulb which showed how grudging he was because he would remove it with such care whenever leaving the room. Obviously the main character in the play was Ebenezer scrooge. He was an old, selfish, grumpy, bitter old man. We could tell this by his facial expressions that were always very twisted.

Although dressed in a suite his long scraggly hair and unshaven face showed that he wasn’t all that concerned with his appearance. This rugged look indicated his age as well as his movement which was hunched over and slow. At the end however we see a very different scrooge that stands up tall with his head in the air to show his confidence has been gained and he is proud of his changes. I think this could’ve been shown by making a greater contrast as I didn’t think the change in Scrooge was very dramatic.

At the end of the play we are made aware that Scrooge does care about the people around him. He may have realized in a selfish manner, but he changed before it was too late which is what matters, leaving us with a fairy tale ending. I think one of the most dramatic characters in the play has to have been Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s deceased business partner. He appears from the floor when Scrooge’s light suddenly cuts out. His costume is amazing with a death gown shredded with blood smeared across it to signify that he is dead and has been tortured for his sinful life.

Although impressive, Jacob Marley’s entrance was quite alarming and younger children found it quite scary, especially along with the chains on his wrists and ankles acting as the chains binding him to hell. Compared the quietness of the room before, this huge explosion of noise is very effective. He comes to warn scrooge and is desperate to get the message to him, we can tell this by the way in which he attempts to get closer to him but the chains stop him, there is also wind blowing against him stopping him making contact with Scrooge.

Remember! This is just a sample.

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