Television
The crotchety, miserable old man of Christmas Carols past gains swagger in the BBC’s R16 miniseries of the tale.
Ever since Charles Dickens published his novella A Christmas Carol in December 1843 – bringing the phrases “Merry Christmas!” and “Bah humbug!” into mainstream usage – the story has evolved to suit the needs and tastes of successive generations.
So, perhaps it’s not wholly surprising that in the BBC’s 2019 reimagining of Dickens’ story, which screens on SoHo from Monday, December 23, Ebenezer Scrooge emerges as a darker, more calculating character. That, says Guy Pearce, who plays Scrooge, is exactly what writer Steve Knight ( Peaky Blinders) and director Nick Murphy wanted.
“They wanted somebody far more contemporary in personality,” says Pearce. “A ruthless businessman, someone with swagger and confidence, who actually faced the world in a very logical, rational, powerful way.
“They wanted somebody, almost like a bully, who had enough confidence to take everybody on. As opposed to the Scrooge that we’ve come to know, who is usually quite a bit older, a crotchety miserable old man, who doesn’t really want to have anything to do with the world any more and has no joy left. This Scrooge has real swagger and real attitude.”
That attitude, says Pearce, means that the process of breaking down Scrooge’s defences is more difficult and his reckoning with his life is harsher and more traumatic.
“It requires the Ghost of Christmas Past to be a lot more confrontational and ruthless and to really battle with Scrooge in order to get him back there. So, it’s a more difficult and a more painful experience.”
The news that this is an
R16 take on the tale won’t come as a surprise to fans of Peaky Blinders. Pearce says he was also initially surprised by the contemporary feel of the language in Knight’s script,
but adds that Murphy was emphatic that the characters in the 19th-century tale should not feel stuffy or stagey.
The other thing to note is the spectacular cast: Andy Serkis ( Lord of the Rings) is Christmas Past, Stephen Graham ( Line of Duty) is Jacob Marley, and Charlotte Riley ( Peaky Blinders), Joe Alwyn ( The Favourite), Vinette Robinson ( Doctor Who), Rutger Hauer, Kayvan Novak ( What We Do in the Shadows) and Lenny Rush ( Old Boys) are also there. As if that weren’t enough, Tom Hardy and Ridley Scott are executive producers.
A Christmas Carol (SoHo, Sky 010, Monday 23, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 8.30pm). All three episodes also premiere as a box set on Neon on Boxing Day.