Northern Ballet’s acclaimed production of A Christmas Carol rolls into Bradford next week, celebrating its 21st anniversary.
For principal character dancer Darren Goldsmith, who steps into Scrooge’s shoes, it’s the “ultimate feelgood show”.
“You can’t leave the theatre without a smile on your face,” adds Darren who has been performing as Scrooge for about 17 years, having learned the role from Jeremy Kerridge, Northern Ballet’s original Ebeneezer.
Darren says the biggest challenge is “concentration, as for long periods of the show you have nothing to do but remain in character and stay true to the story.”
He adds: “If not that, it has to be trying to get dressed while dancing the final solo.”
It takes Darren about 45 minutes to become Scrooge, with make-up and costume. “I like to have about five or ten minutes to myself before curtain up, just to get into that miserly state of mind,” he says.
“The golden rule when taking on any famous character is simple; just don’t try and copy anyone else. Watch them and learn from them, but you have to find your own interpretation and stay true to that, no matter what.”
Unlike Scrooge, Darren is a fan of Christmas, and loves decorating the tree the most. “I love Christmas trees. I always want to put the tree up really early, then I get in a huff when I have to take it down,” he says.
Northern Ballet chief executive Mark Skipper says the company’s version of A Christmas Carol came from composer Carl Davies who had worked with the company on A Simple Man, based on Lowry paintings.
“We had worked with Massimo Moricone on Romeo and Juliet which was a huge success, so we invited him to choreograph A Christmas Carol with Christopher Gable (Northern Ballet founder) directing,” he says,
“A Christmas Carol was commissioned when the company was in quite severe financial difficulties. Romeo and Juliet gave us the confidence to make a new family ballet for Christmas. At the time it was the biggest production that Northern Ballet had created, so it really made a statement about where we were trying to take the company.”
Mark adds: “It was one of the major ballets from the time of Christopher Gable and the version we have today remains true to the production he originally created, which I think is important for the legacy of that production.”
With dazzling costumes, props and special effects, it’s a challenging production.
“It was bigger than anything else we were used to touring before, so it was a technical challenge. The set design is very clever, the main central trucks become all sorts of different spaces, from the Counting House to Fezziwigs to Bob Cratchit’s house, so although we built a large set we have these modules that move around inside it, so it can become all things you need for Victorian England.”
Mark has seen the production more than 150 and says there isn’t much he doesn’t know about it. “The range of roles gives lots of opportunities for various members of the company to interpret them in different ways,” he says.
“The story appeals to audiences and is perfect for Christmas. In the early days people would come to see it every year. At the time it was our “Nutcracker”.
“We have brought A Christmas Carol back this year as it’s the production’s 21st anniversary. It is Northern Ballet’s most performed production – it has been seen by more than 350,000 people.”
l Northern Ballet’s A Christmas Carol runs at the Alhambra from next Wednesday to  Saturday. For tickets ring (01274) 432000.