I went to see Scrooge at the Empire Theatre, Sunderland, last night…what an amazing show. I’m a big fan of musicals and the Albert Finney version I have on DVD ranks up there in my top ten so, this ‘West-End Production’ had a lot to live up to. I am delighted to say, it certainly delivered.

Michael Barrymore entered to a round of applause from the audience and from that moment, we were hooked. His voice was crackly and hoarse (having had laryngitis earlier in the run as well as being into the 5th week of performance) but the voice of Scrooge does not need to be pitch perfect – he just needs a stage presence and Barrymore has that… in spades.

Highlights include Anthony Stuart Lloyd as The Ghost of Christmas Present– a powerful, yet velvety, baritone to sing I Like Life ; Barry Howard (from TV’s Hi-De-Hi) as The Ghost of Christmas Past – very entertaining, and Geoffrey Abbot as Bob Cratchit – a beautiful voice and a good actor. The rest of the chorus and cast gave a strong performance with such vocal clarity that the show would’ve still been a success without the story!

In addition, the sets and special effects were fantastic. One minute a chair was empty, in the middle of the stage, the next, The Ghost of Christmas Past was sitting in it – amazing! The effects were provided by Paul Kieve, an illusionist responsible for effects in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He works as a consultant to David Copperfield, Derren Brown and Guinness World Records.

Once we reached the graveyard scene that’s set into the future – I was gone, as desolate as Bob Cratchit – I blubbed all the way through the remaining 20 minutes.

I know there’s bad press/media surrounding Mr Barrymore at the moment, but I (and everyone there) didn’t think about that. I went to see a fantastic show, and that’s what I got. I wish I’d gone before Christmas so I could go again before the run finishes next week. Bloody brilliant!