On the Town: There wasn't a hint of Christmas when the first, bleak scene of A Christmas Carol opened with Barry McGovern as Ebenezer Scrooge sitting "solitary as an oyster . . . in his counting house".
"Dickens probably created what we understand about the Christmas spirit," said Alan Stanford, who directs this adaptation by John Mortimer of the Dickens classic. "It's also about the fact that everybody is capable of redemption. The overall message is that it's better to love people than to accumulate," he said.
Neasa O'Rourke from Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan who was at the opening night in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, last Tuesday, "loved the liveliness of it".
Actor David Kelly, who recently played Grandpa Joe in the blockbuster film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and his wife, Laurie Morton, were among the celebrities.
"This is my favourite Dickens novel," said playwright Bernard Farrell. "It's actually quite a hard-hitting story about the materialism of Christmas . . . John Mortimer has unfolded the story really well. He's brought out the tragedy of Old Scrooge. It's great to see his reincarnation in the second half."
Soon, the troupe was singing God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen and the Christmas season was well under way.
Kathleen Watkins and her friend, Hilda Tierney, especially loved the "chorister's voice" of Barry O'Connell (12).
Actors Cathy Belton, Karen Ardiff, Peter Hanly and partner Jennifer O'Dea all agreed that the play's most poignant aspect involves taking Scrooge back in time to remember his past.
For Ella Adler (13), Scrooge understood that "we should all be charitable at Christmas and always". "It's brilliant," added the St Louis High School, Rathmines, Dublin, student.
A Christmas Carol runs at the Gate Theatre, Dublin, until Sat, Jan 28