Review: Sh*t-Faced Showtime: A Pissedmas Carol (Leicester Square Theatre)

Review by Sam Waite

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Something familiar to many is that one attendee at a holiday gathering who has too much to drink, becomes the subject of countless jokes, and threatens to derail the entire proceeding. For those uninitiated, the Sh*t-Faced Showtime model is applying this idea to live theatre, with one of the actors playing the part not only of their character as written, but as the evening’s Dickensian drunk. An annual tradition in the vein of their Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare performances, the company have returned, beverages in tow, to the Leicester Square Theatre for another season of their festively foolish A Pissedmas Carol.

As you likely know from Dickens’ original story, the many film and stage adaptations, or the merry misadventures of The Muppets, A Christmas Carol follows three nights in the life of Ebeneezer Scrooge, the humbugging old miser who finds himself visited by three spirits.to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. His kindly business partner having passed years before, he sees no reason to allow employee Bob Cratchit a day off to spend Christmas with his family, but bows to the pressure of the holiday. Arriving home to scold local carollers, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of dearly departed Jacob Marley, in a prelude to the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come’s own visits.

With Ashley Gerlach picked as the Dickensian drunkard for this year’s press night, Scrooge was also a stumbling mess from the off. A hallmark of the Sh*t-Faced shows is that the sober cast members must do their best to apply new ideas introduced by their less-inhibited colleague into the narrative, often allowing for some stellar improvisations. Welcoming the audience back for act two, the evening’s host, producer-adapter James Murfitt, advises us that should Gerlach have left us confused, we need only remember The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, “only with slightly less muppets, and slightly more premature ejaculation.”

Guiding his thirsty thespian through the performance and doing what he can to keep the show somewhat recognisable, Murfitt does what can only be described as his best. Repeatedly having to stop the show and insist that the plot actually be allowed to move forward, he continually found humorous ways to berate Gerlach, and manages to be a charming and welcome presence when engaging with the audience. Director Katy Baker has allowed plenty of space – literally and in the text – for the unpredictable adlibs and complete abandonment of blocking, meaning that everything around Gerlach runs as a faithful and funny take on the classic tale, and that Gerlach (or whoever has made an inebriated entrance that evening) can explore his character and his stage freely without any real concerns for safety.

The annual question (or more so, for those of us also attending the Shakespeare performances) is whether the actor is that drunk, or just playing it up for the audience. My answer, always, is that it doesn’t matter because under warm stage lights and with loud, energised castmates in your face, they can surely scarcely recognise the difference themselves. What I certainly cannot speak to is the quality of Ashley Gerlach’s rehearsed turn as Ebeneezer Scrooge, as I’m fairly certain we didn’t see a moment of it for his opening night performance. Gerlach is a born comedian and thrives on the freedom being the Sh*t-Faced cast member allows him – a particularly funny moment found him attempting to evade the Ghost of Christmas Present by ducking into row E or F of the audience, swearing loudly when he was quickly foiled and guided carefully back to the stage.

Showtime’s main attraction is, of course, this well-liquored performance, but the true heroes of these shows are consistently the remainder of the ensemble cast, whose knack for improv and quick-witted humour keep the show moving no matter how unrecognisable it becomes. Hal Hillan is absolutely wonderful as Bob Cratchit and does a fine job leaning into the shocking twist that Scrooge wants to begin an indecent affair with him, quickly shut down by Murfitt’s refusal to have a “Weinstein version” of the show play out, but hilariously brought back for the evening’s climax. As Belle, the object of Scrooge’s ill-fated affections, Issy Wroe Wright (also a producer and the company’s artistic director) balances heartache and improv comedy masterfully, bringing a strong voice and solid comedy chops to her swiftly rewritten lyrics:

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart

But the very next day, I found out… you’re gay?

This year, to save me from tears

I’ll give it to someone… less… homosexual.”

The musical numbers, under the watchful eye of musical director Charlotte Brooke, carry plenty of comedy of their own, so that no matter how involved the inebriated may or may not be in the songs there are still comic flourishes. A mournful possible future, with Bob and Mary Cratchit mourning Tiny Tim, is make hysterical by their singing “Stay Another Day” at his graveside, husband and wife alternating the belted “Stay now, stay now!” Murfitt and Lewis Ironside have done well to bring their abbreviated take on Dickens’ story to the Leicester Square Theatre stage, and Brooke’s musical contributions really do help to tie together the blend of Dickensian storytelling and messily modern touches that make the Sh*t-Faced concept so warmly welcoming.

Lucy Fowler, costume designer, and Nicola Jones, sets, paint an immediately familiar picture, and ensure that the one poor, rock-dwelling soul who has been dragged along with no knowledge of A Christmas Carol can quickly pick up on settings and socials standings. The cast all perform marvellously, but it’s perhaps best not to dwell here on too many of their specific high points – both Wright and Alice Merivale are in fine vice, and Dan Quirke gave a memorable press night tun as both the Ghost of Christmas Present and Mrs Fezziwig, bringing some pantomime cheese and spectacular presence to both parts – because there is always that chance that any of them could be the intoxicated thespian on any return visit, and that their performances will be wildly reshaped and dazzlingly disaster-filled as a result.

With a magnificent cast of amiable players ready to switch things up on the fly and make total sense of, quite literally, a drunk man’s ramblings, this year’s A Pissedmas Carol may be the best it’s ever been, and I for one am fascinated by the myriad of ways this strong cast could become stupendously, Sh*Facedly derailed by the end of the run. This is A Christmas Carol as you’ve never seen it – and as no two nights out are ever the same, as you’ll likely never see it again.

Sh*t-Faced Showtime: A Pissedmas Carol plays at the Leicester Square Theatre until January 4^th

For tickets and information visit https://www.leicestersquaretheatre.com/show/sht-faced-showtime-a-pissedmas-carol/

Photos by Andrew AB Photography