Chaos, Comedy, and Christmas: Farndale Comes to Shirley

Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's Production of A Christmas Carol

21st - 22nd November 2025

Shirley Players

I can’t think of a more perfect show choice for the Shirley Players than this one. “Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's Production of A Christmas Carol” has that same gloriously chaotic energy as “The Play That Goes Wrong”, although this script was delighting audiences with theatrical calamity long before Mischief Theatre came along. As lovers of amateur dramatics, we can laugh (a little too knowingly) at the mishaps and clashing personalities that the Farndale series parodies.

The opening certainly threw a few people in the audience. I even heard someone behind me mutter to their companion, “It’s a comedy, it’s supposed to be like this,” as chair of the guild, Phoebe Reece (played by Sarah “H” Gordon) struggled with a microphone and complained about her cast members being late. From the outset, the tone was clear: we were in for an evening of intentional mishaps, questionable cues, and fully grown women playing schoolchildren (one of the production’s running jokes that never stopped being funny).

One of the greatest joys (and challenges) of this show is watching performers play characters who are themselves performers fumbling through a performance. It takes very strong actors to make comedy out of chaos. Director Carla Harvey explained that she chose this play very intentionally, selecting it not only because it suited the abilities and personalities of the ensemble she had available, but also because it offered the chance to stage something that captured the spirit and energy of a classic pantomime, without actually being a pantomime (except for a brief exchange of "oh no you didn't!").

Photo credit: Sasha Cherry

Sarah “H” Gordon, as Phoebe Reece, held the entire story together. Phoebe is one of the great comic archetypes of the Farndale series: the theatrically ambitious Townswoman utterly convinced of her own star quality and determined to do the play her way (I think we’ve all met a few Phoebes!). Phoebe approaches every role with grand seriousness, even as everything around her descends into chaos. That contrast is what makes her so funny, and Gordon captured it beautifully. She kept the story flowing by playing Phoebe as the self-appointed anchor of the troupe with her unwavering “show must go on” attitude meant the audience always had a focal point amid the mayhem. Gordon's straight-faced sincerity grounded the absurdity and made the comedy land cleanly without ever feeling messy.

Shanila Taylor played Felicity with wonderful comic boldness. From the moment we (just about) saw her shuffling across the stage in darkness in a giant snowman costume, it was clear she has a fantastic instinct for comedy. Her exaggerated gestures, sweeping entrances, and well-timed reactions brought great energy every time she appeared. The physical comedy was where this production particularly excelled: Taylor’s unexpected dance routine and Susan Moore’s Mercedes failing miserably (and hilariously) at pouring cups of tea were clear audience favourites.

The cast was rounded off with Maddie Warren as Thelma, covering the role of Scrooge in a gloriously ridiculous wig. Warren embraced the role with a wonderfully gruff, “let’s just get on with it” attitude, delivering an over-serious Scrooge that contrasted perfectly with the chaos unfolding around her. John Maslen took on the token male role of Gordon, the long-suffering, quietly reluctant member of the dramatic society whose weary patience added an extra layer of humour to every scene he appeared in.

Photo credit: Sasha Cherry

I’ll admit that as Act One wrapped up, I wondered where Act Two would go. A surprising amount of "A Christmas Carol " had already been covered, and I briefly questioned whether I’d made a mistake asking to meet the director during the interval. The second act in the script is even more chaotic than the first, and at times this was to the detriment of the performance. The extended game of charades (necessary for selecting a winning “audience member”) outstayed its welcome, and the repeated gag involving Scrooge and a child failing to catch money went on a bit too long.

Still, the nature of a play like this means you can get away with moments that would otherwise feel too long or too silly. Overall, this production was a loving celebration of community theatre at its most absurd: enthusiastic, unpredictable and utterly charming.