Stage: A Victorian night out

Lost Estate presents
The Great Christmas Feast
director Simon Pittman • writer Adam Clifford
with Tama Phethean
musicians Guy Button, Charlotte Kaslin, Beth Higham-Edwards
sets Darling & Edge
menu Ash Clarke • chef Rob Hallinan
Lost Estate, West Kensington • 14.Nov.25-4.Jan.26 ★★★★

Back for its eighth year, Lost Estate's astonishingly big-scale immersive experience sends its audience back to 1843 for a period-style three-course meal that is interwoven with a full-on performance of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The attention to detail is seriously impressive, both the meal and the performance, which is expertly staged to bring this oft-told tale to life in ways that are surprisingly thrilling and emotional. This is a wonderful way to spend three and a half hours, celebrating the holidays with some first-rate  food, drink and entertainment.

Entering the West Kensington venue, we walk through a museum that explores the state of London in the mid-19th century, most notably the situation for poor families like the Dickenses, who spent time in prison and workhouses trying to get out of debt. Then Charles' success as a novelist changed things, and after seeing copies of his early works we arrive at a snowy doorway that leads into the extravagant dining room with its flickering gas-lit effect lanterns and elaborate set designs. The food is seriously tasty too, as is a progression of cocktails from the Smoking Bishop (yes, it's hot and smoking) to the Cafe Noir, a luxuriant variation on the expresso martini.

In between courses, actor Tama Phethean performs an outrageously demanding one-man show, welcoming us and narrating the story as Dickens while also playing most of the characters himself, charging around the enormous space with wonderful bursts of energy. He brings real passion to the show, diving fully in to make the most of the inventive sound, lights and live music played by a trio of musicians. And a few high-profile audience members get to take part in guest roles, while various extras and even the food service team get in on the act.

A Christmas Carol is such a familiar story that we could recite it ourselves, but this all-encompassing experience adds a wonderful new slant to things. It helps that the cast and crew lean into the ghostly narrative, providing some terrific horror-style moments with an inventive use of sound, music, lighting and mist, plus some superbly flashy surprises. Phethean has such kinetic physicality that we can't take our eyes off him, and he performs with a charming theatrical flair that playfully keeps us enthralled. Then he allows us to catch our breath with another course of food and drink before the next act. And of course the tale itself continues to get deep under the skin with its timeless themes about connecting to the world around us.

For details, THE LOST ESTATE >

photos by Hanson Leatherby, from the 2024 production with David Alwyn

2.Dec.25