EBENEZER SCROOGE Hills Youth Theatre Stirling Community Theatre Until 29 Jun 2014 Review by Jamie Wright While it seems a little unusual to have a story adapted from one as closely associated with Christmas as “A Christmas Carol”' performed in June, but on a chilly afternoon/evening in Stirling with a veritable army of young performers bundled up in winter cloaks to it feels completely appropriate. Josh Sanders' adaptation captures the key plot points of the Dickens classic – miserly, Christmas-hating Ebenezer Scrooge is nasty to family, employees, debtors and the world in general until he is visited on Christmas Eve by a succession of ghostly characters who, in a series of flashbacks and flashforwards, show him the error of his ways. It's an effective distillation and a funny one as well; there are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments throughout, as well as maintaining the strong Dickensian social commentary. Director Judy Sampson has done an excellent job of both co-ordinating the huge cast(s) of youngsters and getting the most out of the script; the action is well-paced, the characterisation of the lead characters solid, and the humour used to the fullest. Animated projected backdrops are used well, allowing for rapid scene changes. The principal cast all do well: Matilda Butler captures Scrooge's crotchety meanness and subsequent regret, Fae Gehren is otherworldly as Christmas Past, William Armfield seems well beyond his years as Christmas Present and Zoe Hilton is a creepy Christmas Future who wouldn't look out of place playing chess in a Bergman film. Ikee Blackman narrates well; Jean Collins is an optmistic, affable Bob Cratchit and Carson Nutt an excellent Marley's Ghost. The supporting cast are also solid; apart from the occasional moment of being too quiet or not facing the audience enough to be heard beyond the first few rows they deliver their lines – including some very darkly comic ones – very well. The singing and choreography to recorded music causes a stumble or two, but not so much that it detracts from the overall effect. Costuming such a huge cast is always a challenge, but the team here – Judy Sampson, Di Mason, Judy Hilton, Sandra McKean and Sharon Tansell – have gone above and beyond to outfit the kids, almost all of whom wear multiple outfits over the course of the show. There's some (possibly intentional) hilarity in the Fezziwig Ball where the number of shoe-polish moustaches paired with bowler hats leads makes the scene seem a little like a Charlie Chaplin costume party. All in all this is a great production from Hills Youth Theatre, and all involved should be commended for their creativity and hard work. No humbugs here!