Dickens on the airwaves

Boundary players have some fun with the classic A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens loved Christmas and always celebrated it lavishly. His story about the transformation of the miserly Scrooge into a kind old chap, anxious to redeem himself, is arguably the finest Christmas story of them all.

Boundary players chose to perform the play as a radio presentation in the truncated version, written by Joe Landry with music by Kevin Connors.

This was not a bad idea choosing to put a fresh spin on an old favourite, always popular at this time of the year. It also has bonuses for amateur societies by utilising a minimum of scenery and giving the actors the only legitimate excuse for holding and reading directly from their scripts.

Alice Grundy had fun acting as the studio announcer and sound effects technician, ringing bells, clattering wood blocks for sound effects and holding up a board requesting applause at key moments. So, we never had to think about applause – we were instructed when to do it!

Presented as a radio show for a New York US radio station it came complete with commercials, even one for Olde London Fairy fruit cake... oh yes... and performed vigorously by the 11-strong cast.

Freddie Filmore made a good Scrooge, delivering his lines accurately, although he could perhaps have made the old miser a bit more crotchety and nasty in the opening scenes. Charle Dickens did in his writing.

The ensemble cast, headed by Andrew Smith, Jake Laurents, Sally Applewhite, Clare Webb and Richard Mier, and the rest, had great fun playing all the parts between them – what the BBC Radio people always describe as “other parts played by...”

However, the little boy voices could have done with a little extra coaxing by the director Mary Robinson.

This is the second adapted radio play staged by Boundary and there’s another one coming up by Kintbury Players this week.

DEREK ANSELL