A Christmas Carol Farnworth Little Theatre Runs until January 23 THIS feel-good production will help chase away those post-Christmas blues.

The well-known tale has been newly adapted by David Holman, and youngsters from the FLT youth Group worked hard to take the audience back to a true Dickensian Christmas.

None put in more effort than Jonathan Broadley in the lead role.

His performance perfectly captured the transformation of the crotchety old miser into the perfect philanthropist. With each visit by a Christmas ghost the audience watched his anguish as he witnessed his past follies, penny-pinching present and his miserable future.

Perhaps more should have been made of his hard-done-by clerk Bob Cratchit (Barry Pollard) and his family but the adaptation concentrated mostly on Scrooge himself.

Clever use of projected slides onto the background helped convey both the passage of time and various scene changes.

Lighting and sound effects were minimal but effective and were offset by some detailed costumes. It was refreshing to see any slight mishap or stumble quickly glossed over and forgotten by the cast - as only the confidence of youth allows.

Lasting just over 90 minutes the plot was refreshingly tight and kept the attention of an audience who were crammed into the snug theatre.

Of the 25 cast members, 13 were treading the boards for the first time - but first night nerves never surfaced and all clearly loved their time in the spotlight. Dave Roberts

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.