Over
the last couple of years I have been attending live beam showings at cinemas. These
are theatrical productions of a variety shows transmitted live from London, Stratford
and other theatrical centres of excellence. It is not uncommon for the
recordings to be reshown. The performances as transmissions and as recordings,
capture something of the atmosphere and energy of the theatre. It is the next
best experience to actually being present.
On
Wednesday the 12th of December 2018, I travelled to a nearby town to
watch what I thought was to be, a live transmission from a theatre in London.
This was ‘A Christmas Carol’ starring Simon Callow. I was disappointed to
discover that this transmission was not of his legendary one man interpretation
of the Dickens classic from a theatre live. It was instead a film version of
Callow performing his famed telling of the story, set in a disused warehouse at
the Woolwich arsenal. My disappointment was short lived.
With
minimal sound effects and special effects, with clever lighting and it has to
be said, empathic direction. Callow took us through his one man show on film.
He moved from room to room; set with the bare minimum of furniture, to gift us
a performance built around expression, voice and posture.
Walking
between the muted tones of the ruined building, with lighting that was both
subtle and distinctive, Callow wearing contemporary dress gave us the performance
of our dreams. We all know the story, we go to such performances to experience
a personal reinterpretation, an adaptation and to live the story. Callow in
this regard shows himself to be an acting genius. He was born to be Dickens, he
is as close as we can get to seeing Dickens ourselves without time-travel.
We
should not underestimate the achievement that is a one man performance. Nor was
this the first time I have seen an actor perform ‘A Christmas Carol’ solo. To
stand without a supporting cast and with the minimum of props, to face, engage
and entertain an audience, truly they are alone. There is no one there to cover
a mistake, to lift a flagging performance or distract the audience from the
main character. It is acting without a safety net.
In
all of this Simon Callow excelled, he shone in the role that has come to define
his career. He is an outstanding actor, without doubt he is one of the best of
our century and his performance in this film confirmed his reputation. It is my
humble opinion that Callow is a thespiactrical giant. With that I note; I have
and not for the first time, created a new word.
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