Erin Harrington reviews A Christchurch Carol, written by Gregory Cooper, directed by Dan Bain, with music from Michael Bell, at Little Andromeda, Thursday 4 December 2025.
This year’s Little Andromeda Christmas show, A Christchurch Carol, localises Dickens’ classic, dropping us in the middle of the city and some of the outer suburbs for an uplifting(?) morality(?) tale about maybe not being quite so much of a jerk.
This production places parsimonious Ebenezer Scrooge in the derelict (and recently demolished) Harley Chambers where he cusses out young carollers in Victoria Square, bullies his employees, and generally relishes being a self-described ‘miserable shit’. On Christmas Eve he’s confronted by a suspiciously familiar looking apparition waving its chains and warning him to change his ways, then spends a terrible night being confronted with his past, present and future. Will he stop being such an unconscionable dick? Of course, but only after being confronted with his many personality deficits, and some of the best / worst that Ōtautahi has to offer.
The show’s performances are top tier. James Kupa gets to go full Orson Welles in his performance of Scrooge, all aggressive deadpan gravitas, arched eyebrows and idiosyncratic diction. Tom Eason and Reylene Rose Hilaga are terrific in a range of increasingly stupid roles, some of which are quite physically and vocally demanding. The three have acted and improvised together for a long time, particularly in Little A’s long-running Dungeons and Comedians, and they have tremendous chemistry in what’s sometimes a high trust environment. They dance, sing, operate puppets, pash, pose, dance a bit more, pretend to injure themselves, engage in a bit of corporal punishment and generally throw themselves about the place. I sometimes wonder if places like Toi Whakaari should be a bit more upfront about the ‘diverse’ nature of roles their graduates end up playing; less Hamlet, more simpering personification of a sad gravestone out the back of the public toilets in a suburban park.
Gregory Cooper’s quick-fire script drags Scrooge, and the audience, through memorable spots in the city’s history (particularly c.1985, the city of Christchurch past), clearly and effectively catering to the Christmas work party crowd in a tongue-in-cheek manner. There’s lots of wit, the right amount of smut, loads of well-constructed jokes that operate at a variety of levels that let the audience feel a bit clever (my favourite is a throwaway refence to Se7en), plus heaps of scope for the actors to go hard and really earn their keep.
A Scrooge whips through time, the play is populated by a variety of local and national politicians and media personalities, and one particularly inspired appearance by a long-gone but not forgotten local landmark. It’s always interesting to get a sense of the audience’s reaction to representations of politicians in these sorts of shows. I’ve sometimes had grumpy punters email (thinking the reviewer is the producer?) to complain about jokes at the expense of [insert politician who they voted for here] and not wanting to be told how to think, dammit! It’s entertainment! The mass media is a communist scam! A Christchurch Carol seems to hit a good balance, prodding at big personalities more than actual politics, even if the room goes a bit quiet during one well-performed sequence in which Kupa (seemingly now in a Christmas tradition) plays multiple characters at once. I just hope the mayor comes along, has a lovely time, and keeps seeing fit to support the arts.
This is easily the slickest and most technically creative Christmas production Little A has staged; stickiest too, maybe, if you consider Scrooge’s near acrobatic attempts at getting in and out of his nightshirt, and his enthusiasm for spritzing the audience with a bottle of something nasty. Director Dan Bain, as with the recent production of Coffin Ship, knows how to wring a lot out of the theatre’s tech set up. The extensive lighting design and projected elements are great (and laden with gags), and the set – the boarded-up interior of Scrooge’s office – has enough little gaps and flourishes built in to keep the very small playing space flexible. There are also some highly memorable costumes that made me wonder if Eason in particular is on danger pay.
A Christchurch Carol is immense fun – my favourite of the theatre’s Christmas productions in recent years. If you’re after a well-made yet grubby trip down memory lane, a singalong, and a pretty loose and kinda rude night out that hopefully involves a sober driver, then this is for you.
A Christchurch Carol runs until Saturday 20 December, 2025. Hurry, as it’s nearly sold out!
Flat City Field Notes 