Director's joy at bringing Christmas Carol to Bolton Octagon

Georgia is directing a new musical adaption of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol which opens tonight at the Octagon and which will run until the middle of January.

“Actually I think because there have been so many different versions of it, that’s actually quite freeing,” said Georgia, the theatre’s associate director. “It’s been something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.

“When I was being interviewed for the job at the Octagon I knew that part of it included handling the Christmas production but I didn’t know what that would be. When they said ‘ how do you feel about A Christmas Carol?’ I just said I’d wanted to do it forever.”

The tale of miser Ebenezer Scrooge who is shown the error of his ways on the eve of Christmas after visitations from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future has been dramatised in many different ways, so what was Georgia’s starting point?

“Well there no way I can compete with The Muppets' version but I’m going to give it a good try,” she laughed. “At its heart, it’s a really good story. I went back and re-read the original story and I realised it is so good you don’t have to work so hard, you just have to tell it and don’t be tempted to put too much sauce on it if that makes sense.

“The story has everything you need. It’s got comedy, it’s really weird, you’ve got time travel, ghosts and there’s magic. It’s such a strong story and it’s really beautiful. You need to make sure you have got that heart, then you can do all the wacky stuff like having giant baubles coming from the ceiling or trees flying through the air.

“For me it was important to make sure we’re telling the story about man at a crossroads in his life and realising he needs to make better choices.”

With this new musical production, casting was vitally important.

“Matthew Malone our musical director has done an amazing job weaving the music into the show,” said Georgia. “We knew from the outset that we didn’t want to hide the instruments. There are 47 different instruments in the show played by five performers and Matthew so we had to hunt far and wide for actor musicians who could pull this off.

“But I also had at the back of my mind that they had to be very funny and have a good sense of comic timing as it’s also a comedy. It was quite a tricky process but the people we have we are so pleased with.”

Ebenezer Scrooge will be played by Laurie Jamieson who appeared in the Octagon’s version of One Man, Two Guvnors. The other performers will all be making their debuts at the Octagon.

“It’s such a musical cast, I can’t wait for people to see what they can do,” said Georgia.

Working with designer Katie Scott, Georgia had a clear vision of the world she wanted to create for Scrooge to inhabit.

“We spent lot of time trying to figure out what our Dickensian world would look like,” she said. “We wanted to design it in a way could bring modern edge to some of the songs. It’s not what I’d call the classic curly wurly Dickensian look, it has a more modern line to it. When you enter the theatre you’re going to come into a dreamy, magical world.”

The Octagon has helped to inspire the design and the sets.

“It’s such a lovely place to work in,” said Georgia. “We’re working ‘in the round’ in a way that has embraced the shape of the Octagon. It will be a very immersive experience for the audience, we’ll have people arriving from every angle.

“It was very important to have a set that the actors can play on very easily and which can transform very easily. It’s got to be flexible and shift very quickly.

“Everything has to move as if the world is swirling around Scrooge which can be a bit difficult when chairs and table are involved. but I think audiences will be surprised. It’s fast moving and playful.”

As the annual festive production, A Christmas Carol will attract audiences of all ages, and for some it may be their first trip to the new-look Octagon.

“By end of show I think people, apart from having laughed a lot and being scared and having a great old party, will come away feeling that they appreciate the family and friends that they have. I’d like to think they leave with a feeling of ‘I need to call my mum and tell her I lover her’ or ‘I need to call my friends and tell them how great they are’.

“I think it will round off a special year for the Octagon in a special way and I feel really privileged to be part of that.”

A Christmas Carol opens tonight at The Octagon, Bolton, and runs until Saturday, January 14. Details from www.octagonbolton.co.uk