REVIEW: THE GREAT CHRISTMAS FEAST
Remarkable Immersive Theatre and Victorian Banquet Experience Bursts with Christmas Spirit
Even the steeliest Scrooges will wrap themselves in mistletoe and dispatch urchins to buy fat geese after experiencing The Great Christmas Feast, a remarkable immersive experience which combines theatre, cinematic live music, food, drink and blockbuster sets, loaded with festive magic.
The Lost Estate’s critically acclaimed retelling of A Christmas Carol has sold out for the past six years, so our expectations are high, as we head through the red velvet draped entrance for its launch event, into snowy, cobbled Victorian streets and through the secret, Christmas tree-flanked front door into the home of Charles Dickens himself.
The theatre and feasting space transports us to Christmas Eve in Victorian London, 1843. With 5000sq ft of sets made by Darling & Edge - the legendary immersive designers behind Gingerline, Secret Cinema and Crystal Maze - the story unfolds around us before the show begins.
The room is vast, yet intimate, atmospherically lit by flickering table candles and dangling street lights. The festive smells of roast duck and mulled wine hang in the air; classical Christmas music sets the tone, we’re surrounded by Christmas trees, artfully piled old books with four stages dotted around us, featuring sets like Scrooge’s velvet bed or Charles Dickens’s desk.
Our china tea cups are filled with mulled cider, quickly followed by excellent Victorian cocktails - I have the First Edition 1843 - a fresh, citric Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne, Cognac and Yellow Chartreuse long fizz - and my partner kicks off with an Old Curiosity, their festive take on the Old Fashioned, infused with toasted pecans, burnt orange and winter bitters.
Then the gong sounds, the lights dim and Charles Dickens bursts into the room - actor Alex Phelps reprises this role, as well as Scrooge and 18 other characters in this powerful, one-man performance, which recognises Dickens’s famous solo readings of his works, with us playing the role of his specially invited audience to preview his new, ghostly Christmas tale, over dinner at his home.
Phelps fizzes with energy and captivating charisma, taking over the entire space, bouncing between tables to share wine with diners, and leaping through characters, aided by clever sets, dramatic lighting, spine-tingling effects and extraordinary live music from acclaimed musicians, who are the beating heart of the experience.
His youthful Dickens reimagines the stuffy, mutton-chopped character that many imagine, and is perhaps closer to the jolly philanthropist, and occasional magician that he was.
Stand out moments include a beautiful scene, with Phelps as Ghost of Christmas Present, fanning snowflakes around himself as he spins around in a green velvet coat; or the dramatic lightning-lit moment, when he sees a terrifying glimpse of his future.
Phelps artfully moves the audience, recreating the family mourning Tiny Tim and then fills the room with cheer, forcing the room to join a rowdy Victorian dance, or bringing up audience members to act out scenes with him - many diners are dressed in period attire for the occasion and most are in their Victorian best.
The show is divided into three acts, with an extravagant Victorian course for each, provided by Dickens’s housekeeper Ursula, otherwise known as Executive Chef Ashley Clarke, who is known for his delicious work with Gordon Ramsay Group, Smokestak, and Temper Soho.
These are masterful. We begin with an explosion of Christmas flavours, via a dreamy Ham Hock Terrine with Pickled Beets, Samphire, Chutneys and Pickles, mopped up with great, Dickensian hunks of malt and white sourdough with truffle and sea salt butter.
This is followed by a rich and tender Confit Grassingham Duck leg, with flesh which falls from the bone. The artichoke purée, mulled cabbage, and duck jus trimmings are excellent, and the standout is the crispy and fluffy thyme and garlic roast potatoes, which our forks greedily fight over.
I lack a sweet tooth, but seemed to grow several for the dessert - it’s a Christmas miracle. The Twelfth Night Cake is Christmas on steroids - crispy, gooey, bursting with brandy and accompanied by a sublime plum pudding ice cream. These are all washed down with a lovely Rioja from Dickens’ well stocked wine cellar.
The production is outrageously ambitious and with so many balls in the air, you would expect (and forgive) them for dropping one. But this is not the case, they triumph in every element - from the theatre to the food, drink, atmosphere, music and sets.
We reluctantly return to the cold, dark streets of West Kensington, warmed by the festive magic of Dickens's hospitality and brimming with Christmas spirits of every form.
The Great Christmas Feast, 9 Beaumont Ave, London W14 9LP. Until 12 January 2025. Tickets from £105 pp
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