A Christmas Carol at the Sky City Theatre

By PAUL SIMEI-BARTON

A Christmas Carol is haunted by the ghost of innumerable television specials that have choked Dickens' gritty tale in a thick cloud of sentimentality.

Auckland Theatre Company's production dispels the fog with a welcome blast of humour, vitality and music, transposing the story to present-day Auckland and returning us to the overtly political concerns that fuelled Dickens' original telling of the story.

The pointy nightcaps are gone and Scrooge emerges with laptop in hand, firing off emails and spouting the dogma of neo-conservatism.

While emphasising the satirical aspects of the novel, the production never looses sight of the sheer entertainment value of the story. The script bristles with topical references and sharp one-liners, but the satire is gentle and lacks the visceral sense of moral outrage with which Dickens assails his targets.

Mark Hadlow as Scrooge opens with a flamboyant musical rendition of "Bah Humbug" but deftly avoids the temptation to ham up the part. He brings a crucial sense of emotional honesty to the difficult transition in which Scrooge sheds his cynical misanthropy and slowly regains the ability to sympathise with his fellow human beings.

As the Ghost of Christmas Present, Hori Ahipene recycles his portrayal of Mrs Semisi in Skitz to great comic effect.

At times the hilarity engendered by the ghost scenes seems to jeopardise the deathly threat that motivates Scrooge's stab at redemption. We have to wait for the silent Ghost of Christmas Future before encountering a truly spectral presence, and it is at this point that the drama becomes most deeply engaging.

In the supporting roles there are a number of standout performances. Bruce Hopkins is as an earnest but believable Bob Cratchit, and as Fezziwig he delivers an appealing vignette of a 1950s staff shout.

Paul Barrett's rich voice convincingly established the authorial presence of Dickens, and Kate-Louise Elliot brings an infectious energy to her Westie caricature.

The show benefits enormously from its use of live music and Grant Winterburn's superb musical score. As well as providing spine-chilling sound effects, his arrangements enliven some of the more irritating Christmas carols. When Silent Night morphs into a soul song featuring Jackie Clarke's vocals he delivers a showstopper.

We perhaps see a bit too much forced jollity from the Cratchit family, and on occasions the narrator's voice seems unnecessarily intrusive. But all things considered it is difficult to imagine a better way to usher in the festive season.

The play invites us to forsake greed and re-establish the bonds of community that have been shattered by decades of economic reform.