Cast and creative team announced for A Christmas Carol
From the team that created The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, James and the Giant Peach and Alice in Wonderland comes a brand new production of Charles Dickens’ classic story of ghosts, greed and goodwill, A Christmas Carol (1 December – 5 January).
Director Mark Calvert says, “Neil Bartlett’s adaptation stays true to the original with all the characters we know and love, but we’ve had great fun setting our version in the 1920s - Rhys Jarman has taken inspiration from Peaky Blinders and the Great Gatsby for the set and costume design, and Hannabiel Sanders’ music breathes new life into Christmas Carols with a fantastic jazz sound. It’s going to be joyful, magical, and shows just don’t get any more Christmassy than A Christmas Carol.”
Adapted for the stage by Neil Bartlett and directed by Mark Calvert, A Christmas Carol will be designed by Rhys Jarman, with choreography by Martin Hylton and lighting by Sam Vivash.
New to the creative team this year is Composer and Musical Director, Hannabiell Sanders who will also perform in the show. An African American Jamaican originally from New Jersey USA, Hannabiel is well known in the North East of England for her band Hannabiell & Midnight Blue. As a bass trombonist, Hannabiell has performed with bands including The Drifters, Nobby Solano's salsa band The Geordie Latinos, and the Harlem Symphony Orchestra. A progressive music teacher with a BFA in Music from Mason Gros School for the Arts in the US and a Masters and a PhD in Music Performance from Newcastle University in the UK, Hannabiell has also worked as a freelance musician with the Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa, and performed at the London 2012 Cultural Olympics in the BT River of Music Festival.
Nick Figgis will play Scrooge. His work in theatre includes War Horse in the West End, Deep Blue Sea at the National Theatre, Dog Boy at Manchester Royal Exchange, and Bouncers at York Theatre Royal. TV includes Casualty, Skins, Byker Grove and Our Friends in the North. He is also a resident actor with Actors for Human Rights. Nick said, "My family moved to Newcastle when I was 12 and it was at Heaton Manor School, encouraged by a brilliant drama teacher, Mr Tilley, that I first started thinking seriously about acting. I love this city and I can't say how much I'm looking forward to sharing my favourite Christmas story here... and it means I won't miss my mother's legendary Christmas dinner this year, so thanks for that!"
He is joined by a cast of actor-musicians including Tim Dalling (James and the Giant Peach, Northern Stage); Clara Darcy (Alice in Wonderland, Northern Stage); Rachel Dawson (The Jungle Book, UK tour); Craig Fairbairn (Animal Farm, Northern Stage); William Pennington (Treasure Island, New Vic); and Hannabiell Sanders; plus a chorus of six performance students from Newcastle College.
Tickets are now on sale from £10 at www.northernstage.co.uk or call the box office on 0191 230 5151.
