‘Scrooge on the Farm’
November 2011 saw my return to Bristol once again to work with Darkstuff Productions on a new adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic winter tale, 'A Christmas Carol'. This was a site-specific piece that took the unusual venue of Windmill Hill City Farm in Bedminster as inspiration for the writing, with Phil John and Simon Harvey-Williams re-imagining Scrooge as a modern-day heartless property developer who buys the community farm with the intention of levelling it to make way for yet another block of luxury apartments.
Performed in promenade style in the open air, the show celebrated the unique atmosphere of the farm at night (and featured some cheeky, cute and tremendously upstaging goats) as audience members were taken on a torch-lit journey through a classic tale re-imagined for the credit crunch era. I played the role of Narrator and stayed with the action throughout, guiding audience members along their journey, commenting and elaborating as the story unfolded, and providing musical accompaniment in the form of piano accordion; a new instrument to me, and one which I've been dying to have a go on for ages!
The season of goodwill is alive and well on Windmill Hill City Farm until the arrival on Christmas Eve of its new owner Ebenezer Scrooge. The miser is determined to ignore the festive season and push ahead with his plans to turn the farm into 'unaffordable' housing and fast food outlets. No pig, chicken, goat or employee are safe while he is around...
Whilst walking home through the farm to escape the carol singers, charity collectors and excitable children Scrooge begins to feel a distinct chill in the air and to imagine unseen eyes upon him. That evening he is visited by his old business partner Jacob Marley, who forewarns of three ghostly visitors who will try to teach him the true meaning of Christmas...
Cast: Stuart Chapman, Ian Kane, Charlotte Rowlands, Anna Westlake and John Winchester
Director: Anna Girvan
Writers: Phil John and Simon Harvey-Williams
For more on Darkstuff Productions please visit: www.darkstuffproductions.com