This month, A Christmas Carol returns to Dundee Rep after its successful 2021 debut – back then, the venue’s first festive show post-lockdown.
Even then, Covid hung over the production like a macabre ghost of cancelled Christmases past.
Social distancing limited audience interaction and its run ended early as the virus ran through the cast.
So bringing back this festive treat to the City of Discovery is welcome for several reasons, especially for actor Ewan Donald, who once again plays the central character in this much-loved Charles Dickens tale, Ebeneezer Scrooge.
On a call from his Edinburgh home before he heads into Dundee for an early tech rehearsal, Ewan explains how thrilled he is to play the Crimbo-hating misery, who is redeemed in the end thanks to some paranormal interventions.
“Those sorts of roles are always best, because you’ve got to make sure you follow that arc,” he says. “You’ve got to start off where he’s locked up his heart; there’s coldness, he’s bitter, lonely and angry.
“It’s quite an operatic story with big themes – tragedy, loss, poverty, forgiveness, all these things you have to cover. Our version’s quite tongue-in-cheek in places, but I have to play it, every step of the way, for what it’s worth.”
Ewan ‘too young’ to play Scrooge at 43
Behind this original, playful take on the Victorian classic is Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie, known as Noisemaker, the creative duo behind previous Rep hits The Snow Queen and Oor Wullie.
“A joy to work with,” Ewan remarks.
“Their music is so beautiful and fits every moment,” he says. “The establishment of Scrooge, when the ghosts come in, each has its own song. They manage to strike the right feel, the lyrics are very witty and clever.”
In 2021, one of the jokes in this all-singing, all-dancing version had Ewan, then a rosy-cheeked 43, complaining he was too young to play the aged miser. In fact, the Falkirk-raised actor admits he originally declined the role.
“The funny thing is, I originally thought it was a ridiculous idea,” he says.
“I thought, I can’t play Scrooge! But the nature of the show is quite ad hoc, that feeling of it being thrown together. In that context, I can play him as me in a way and not have to age him up.”
Ewan remains unfazed by the iconic nature of Scrooge performances from the past – he has been played by everyone from Guy Pearce via Michael Caine to George C Scott.
In fact, Ewan is proud to reveal his and his mum’s favourite Scrooge was played by another Scot, Alastair Sim.
“I’ve watched them all and tried to steal bits that I liked,” he says. “But Alastair’s very, very theatrical. The way he plays it, it’s very much real for him.”
New blood for Christmases future
Now an established hand, Ewan aims to make a new generation of thesps welcome on the Rep’s stage.
Among them now Kirsty Findlay as Emily Cratchit, best known for her performance in Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour.
Also new to the cast is Laura Lovemore, who starred in National Theatre of Scotland’s historical play James IV, here as the Ghost of Christmas Past and the wife of Scrooge’s nephew Fred.
“There’s an extra effort to make sure everyone feels included,” he says. “I remember going up there and it was an established thing, which can be quite intimidating.
“So I’m always making sure people don’t feel excluded, but are very much part of the company. There’s a responsibility to make people feel welcome.”
Noisemaker bring a heart-warming show with something for everyone: witty and moving songs backed by live music on stage and dance sequences, similar in feel to that festive staple, pantomime.
Their experimental twists keep both the cast and audience on their toes. Three years ago, the company arrived on stage in hoodies, having seemingly forgotten to produce a show at all.
This scene-setting remains, minus references to the pandemic, though this time around, Ewan is especially looking forward to more audience participation.
“It’s really important to keep the audience part of it,” he says.
“We’re constantly asking them to join in and take part in things. And this time we’re able to go out into the audience. It’s a little bit freer, I guess.”
A Christmas Carol is at Dundee Rep from November 25 to December 30.
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