An uneventful drive to the Waterways Premier Inn in Stratford, with sufficient time for a quick nap before the evening's activities. At around 16.15, out and a brisk walk into the town centre, wrapped up well against the biting cold.
The streets were beautifully decorated and illuminated:
Quick visits to a couple of shops to acquire stocking-fillers for members of the family, and then on to Edward Moon for our 17.00 reservation. Our usual table (along with many others) was needed to accommodate a large party due in later, so we were offered our choice of any other table in the place.
As is often the case, we were the first diners, and had the place to ourselves for a while:
Santa hats had been applied to one of the stylish B&W photos that adorn the walls:
The Specials Board:
from which Amanda chose the "Braised Beef Casserole":
while I remained very contented with my usual burger (with Emmental and bacon):
Not pictured were our excellent sweets - "Bread and Butter Pudding" for Amanda and "Warm Chocolate and Black Cherry Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream" for me.
One of the pleasures of visiting the same restaurant each time we go to the theatre is that the staff have got to know us, and treat us like returning friends. One of our waitresses had seen this year's production on the opening night, and was able to compare it with last year's production.
After a typically enjoyable meal we prepared to leave, and then a first for us: another waitress (with an indeterminate accent, but certainly not English) asked if they would be seeing us again before Christmas. We responded that our next visit would be in February, whereupon (to our pleasure and the bemusement of other diners) she hugged and kissed both of us on each cheek, wishing us a pleasant evening and a Happy Christmas!
Out again into the cold for the 5-minute walk to the theatre. We omitted our usual stroll around the outside and headed straight in to warm up.
The view from our usual seats:
Obligatory selfie:
The stage at the beginning of the second act: The lights represent windows of a tenement building, the outside wall of which was positioned about as far upstage as anything I have seen at the theatre. When the screens drew aside to reveal the tenement and the cobbled courtyard in front of it I was reduced to a simple 'wow!'.
The production was superb. Last year the part of Scrooge had been performed by Phil Daniels. Since Daniels was unable to commit to the full 2018 run the part had been recast, and was now played by Aden Gillett, known to us (shamefaced admission) as "Jack" in the 1990s BBC series "The House of Eliott". Gillett was excellent, as were the whole of the cast. Special effects were truly 'special', and the packed house appeared to be suitably spellbound.
As noted in some of the reviews, the novella on which the play is based had been written by Dickens in an attempt to highlight the appalling conditions endured by poor children in the mid 19th century. He had originally intended to write a polemical pamphlet but decided that a more effective way to make his point to the general public was by means of a fictional story. This background was communicated to the audience by having Dickens and a friend on stage, narrating the story, unseen by the characters. Accordingly, this production not only illustrated Scrooge's entertaining and well-known journey from misanthrope to philanthropist, but also served to prick at the audience's social conscience.
These reviews are all worth a look:
- A Younger Theatre
- I Choose Birmingham
- Leamington Courier
- Shropshire Star
- Stratford Blog
- Stratford Herald
- Stratford Observer
- The Boar
- The Stage
- Theatre Cat
With the play running at a mere two hours and five minutes, with a twenty minute interval, we were out somewhat earlier than usual, and accordingly stopped off at Loxleys Bar and Restaurant for drinks - an Earl Grey tea for me, and a generous glass of mulled wine for Amanda:
Back to the hotel where, for the first time in a long while, I forgot to set the alarm, meaning that we slept in until around 08.40.
Up, packed and out, we drove to our usual town-centre car park and made our way back to Loxleys, where we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast:
Eggs Benedict for Amanda:
and a full English for me:
Suitably fuelled, we headed out for more Christmas shopping and a few other bits and pieces.
Not visible in this photo is the freezing sleety rain that had started to fall:
Presents and other items purchased, Waterstones visited and temptations resisted, we called into Costa for a quick warming drink and a snack:
before making our way home:
where Amanda reviewed some of her purchases:
and became acquainted with a new friend:
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