Review: COUNT ARTHUR STRONG'S CHRISTMAS CAROL @ Birmingham Town Hall

 

 

Having already experienced one Christmas Carol this season, we find ourselves faced with another. But this time the storyteller is showbiz legend and former BBC television sitcom star Count Arthur Strong. The Count's Radio Shows have won numerous awards and his television series was nominated for a BAFTA, so we are in comedy royalty territory.

It's difficult reviewing a stand up comedy performance like this, because to acurately review the evening you have to put in spoilers, which we are loathe to do. Anybody who has experienced the Count on radio, TV or in the theatre will know you are getting a stream of consciousness delivery like no other.  The Count is liable to go off at a tangent on any given subject, and his portrayal of Charles Dickens recounting A Christmas Carol is no different.  Its not too spoilery to tell you that the first half is by way of a lecture on the life and times of Charles Dickens with the Count playing the man himself, whilst the second half is the Count's one man version of the title story.  Anybody who has seen the Count knows that keeping him focussed is nigh on impossible so his facts and the story he eventually sets out to tell are interspersed with many inaccuracies, not to mention going off on many tangents.

 

As ever Steve Delaney's portrayal of the Count is superb. He inhabits the characters completely,  and as we've said before is up there with Del Boy and Basil Fawlty as a comic creation. Whereas he used to tour with his comedy stalwarts Terry Kilkelly and Dave Plimmer adding to the on stage chaos,  for the past few years it has been solely the Count up there keeping everyone in raptures for two hours each night. In the telling of Dickens' story he does call in some showbiz favours, and employ the help of some well loved stage partners, so that there are plenty of surprises as the evening goes on. But as we have said this is spoiler free! Suffice to say a capacity Birmingham Town Hall audience was bathed in gales of laughter, because as the Count told us, refunds are not an option.

 

Birmingham Town Hall gets ready for the Count's arrival

The master of the malapropism has hinted that his touring days will be over in the not too distant future. Part one of his Farewell Tour hit the road earlier this year,  and the second and final tour is to be announced shortly.  But first there is another tour of A Christmas Carol running throughout November and December 2025, the first having sold out all venues.

So the clock is ticking if you have never seen Count Arthur live. In years to come you'll want to say you were there, when the Count was in full flow as raconteur and national treasure. Without doubt, traditional British comedy at its absolute finest.

Rob & Ian

Full tour details and merchandise can be found at COUNT ARTHUR STRONG'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Further listening:

Why not start with the very first series of Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show and laugh yourself silly.  Set in his home town of Doncaster, the Count finds himself in all manner of scrapes with the long suffering town residents: butcher Wilf Taylor, Cafe owner Gerry, church warden Geoffrey, acting muse Malcolm de Tinsel and Cafe regular Sally Marsden (initially voiced by Sue Perkins, and later by Mel Giedroyc).