From the white blank page!

So truth be told, I've been staring at the empty page, and have tried to think of how could I write something witty, interesting, insightful, creatively intriguing and or all of these things. Instead the minutes have passed and everything seems incredibly boring and dreadfully dull, and I wonder, did 'Mr Dickens have this problem?'

You see when when we look at 'A Christmas Carol' you don't just have this wonderful story but a gift from one of the greatest story tellers of all time. A tale of spirits, humanity, Christmas charity, yuletide warmth, and a conduit to all our own Christmas pasts, not too mention any previous 'A Christmas Carol' memories that we may have stored within our own lifetime.

I believe this will be my fourth experience of actually participating in 'A Christmas Carol' production, my umpteenth experience of the story as an actor, director, reader and viewer, and my actual 38th Christmas this year. All very different and all so magical.

Fortunately whatever happens I am sharing this particular experience amidst a terribly lovely cast and crew, all passionate about their craft, as well as being humble, charming and as someone once said, 'so awfully nice.' I am particularly grateful to certain ladies who are kind enough to walk me through my dance steps.

The funny thing is, that this is the first production I have ever been involved with when quite a few of the cast have already done this particular show. But it doesn't seem to stop them enjoying themselves, nor discovering at least it seems, 'new moments'.

From my own personal perspective it is not the first time I have played Fred, and I hope it won't be my last, as he is indeed such a charming character to play, with a loving heart and noble virtues. However even though I am familiar with the lines, it doesn't mean I am merely repeating a previous performance. For starters I am playing opposite different actors, working for a different director, and this in itself creates new discoveries, along with that I keep finding new thoughts, and thanks to the beauty of theatre in order to keep the performance fresh, you have have to keep discovering, and thankfully one has such a rich text to use, which makes the task so much easier.

Which brings me to my final thought, the genius of Mr Dickens. Charles Dickens was even though a novelist, a Shakespeare of his time. His works still resonate today due to the vast array of subjects that his stories covered, as well as the way in which readers can identify and react to the individual characters on the page. Be it heroes such as Pip, Oliver and Nicholas Nickleby who rise to success in the face of great adversity, or the machinations of his villains such as Fagin, Bill Sikes, and Squeers, lovable rogues like the Artful Dodger, mysterious benefactors such as Abel Magwitch, and tortured antagonists in forms of Miss Havisham and Ralph Nickleby. Not forgetting the way in which Dickens would weave it all around the greater social issues of his time, which we can sadly still draw comparisons with today.

So we come to 'A Christmas Carol', a ghost story, a story of the magic of Christmas, of 'brotherly' love, a tale of redemption and the milk of 'human kindness'. Either way even though it set against the backdrop of a harsh Victorian London it is awash with Christmas Spirit, at it's center the redemption and salvation of a cruel banker. The beauty of course is that we can still 'apply' both it's message and story to our own times. We live do we not in extreme financial times, unsettled by widespread corporate greed, of struggling families, of hopelessness and continued violence of overseas? Yet amidst it all do we not seek a little warmth and solace in the spirit of Christmas and the message it carries?

So if you are struggling to find some joy in the yuletide spirit then more of a reason to come to 'A Christmas Carol' at The Hanover Theatre.