Ebony Scrooge
You can’t swing a pair of pointe shoes in London at Christmas without hitting a production of The Nutcracker. So it’s nice to see that there’s finally a new festive dance show on the block (one that isn’t by Matthew Bourne, anyway).
Hip hop honchos ZooNation are taking on the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, this winter. However, at the beginning we are told that writer/director/choreographer Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe’s version is absolutely not going to be the tale you recognise, with Tiny Tim et al. Instead, the recorded opening narration explains that Ebony Scrooge is about a ruthless fashion mogul (there’s certainly a bit of Miranda Priestly in there), hellbent on completing her monochrome fashion show in time for Christmas Day. It’s also spelled out that this is a story of belonging and finding your roots, which is perhaps a bit unnecessary – we all know the moral of A Christmas Carol.
Ebony Scrooge offers up a fun and inventive cast of characters, and I’m sure people will have their favourites. There are the mischievous content editors Tren and Dee (see what they did there?) with iPhones in hand; Scrooge’s sweet niece Freddie, always dressed in pink; and the kind natured Bob who just wants to put colour in Scrooge’s strictly black and white designs, played by a wonderfully fluid Malachi Welch. Leah Hill is a fabulous Scrooge, vogueing onto the stage in a pair of sparkling killer platforms over a house beat. Marley (that’s Janet Marley in this version) is quite...
