Many see it as an unrealistic, saccharine-sweet story – but in many ways it can be seen as anything but: a tale of a man brought to the brink of committing suicide because he feels he’s worth more dead than alive. Another often-cited issue with the story is that when George Bailey loses a large sum of money it’s totally implausible that friends and acquaintances would actually rally round and bail him out: in actual fact this is only a precursor to the current trend of crowdfunding, when complete strangers are happy to pay money over to hard-luck cases seen on social media.

At this point, I’ll own up that the film version is one of my Christmas Eve traditions, (along with The Muppet Christmas Carol). Actually, the plots of these two works are very similar: a man given the chance by supernatural forces to see how the world would be altered if his life was different.

While it may be possible to recreate a film on stage, this 2016 stage version of the film, by Mary Elliott Nelson, certainly does not attempt to do this. Whereas the movie is a more glossy fantasy, this adaptation should offer unforced charm and make us think more about our own lives and how we fit into our communities. Nelson has deleted certain scenes and characters, but interestingly also adds in new dialogue and scenes not seen in the film. 

The play contains many diverse scenes and needs a convincing bridge for George to consider committing suicide from. It was written so that it can be performed by just four actors (three men and one woman) but, as was the case in your staging, the play can also be performed with a larger cast. As it was originally performed by just four actors the structure means that only four talking characters can be on stage at any one time. The play uses enough of the original plot and dialogue to keep fans of the film happy but also makes some notable changes. Apart from the obvious need to make cuts and simplify the story, the most radical departure from the film is that George’s guardian angel, Clarence Oddbody, is now a woman named Clarissa.

The staging of this production, with set design by Ian Bage and Rob Graham, construction by the Barn set builders, and dressing by Kris Moore, Stephanie Dunn and Colin Hickey, was extremely successful. Due to the number of scenes in the play, the staging was necessarily kept simple, but it was deceptively effective. The plain walls contained various concealed entrances and some of the flats could be folded in and out to create the Gower’s pharmacy, the Building & Loan, and Martini’s Bar. With a few minimal additions of furniture, this allowed for swift scene changes, often with narration over, so the action flowed and the pace remained high throughout. At the back was a movable truck section on which scaffold poles could be folded up quickly to create the bridge where George considers suicide.

This production also made the most of the design of your theatre which placed the audience at the heart of the story. Whereas the movie is an epic sweep, Nelson’s version is clearly meant to make us think about our own lives. This production cleverly utilised access into the auditorium to have actors among the audience, directing remarks to the stage on our behalf, and also directly addressing members of the audience. Two notable examples of this were the Building & Loan meeting where George is elected to the board and the ‘run on the bank’ scene. At other times characters also picked out a member of the audience. These were some of the most effective scenes for me. In summary, all the various design elements served the production well.

Technically the production was also very effective. Lighting and projection by John Gardner, Stephen Kahn, Nick Mogg and Ruben Kelly was good throughout. There were a number of different scenes to light: all cues worked well and coverage was good. There was also use of subtle lighting which helped to establish when scenes were ‘frozen’ flashbacks that others were commenting on and where they were ‘live’. A nice touch was a suspended light which appeared for the Building & Loan scenes, which could then be retracted for other scenes: this worked very well. Lighting and sound also enhanced a clever ‘pull forward’ of the bridge in Act II. There was also an effective use of haze and echo effect which enhanced the ‘other-worldliness’ of the section featuring the angels at the start of each act. The use of projection was also a great addition to this production. As we came in, there was a snowbound cinema showing It’s a Wonderful Life. Throughout the production, there were live action sequences, some of which you had filmed yourself, such as Violet’s entrance, and some from the film, as well as stills from the film and other sources which helped to establish each scene as the play moved around. The opening sequence based on the film credits and using your actors’ names was a great idea and was very well executed. And finally, it also allowed the audience to see one of the Bailey children put a star on the Christmas tree, which then cleverly morphed into Clarissa getting her wings, which was a lovely touch.

Sound and music were by Rob Wallace. There was a good choice of period music pre-curtain and there were nods to the film, such as using Buffalo Girls and Dimitri Tiomkin’s theme music, which gave us a flavour of the film without being a slavish copy of it throughout. All other effects such as the breaking windows of the Old Granvile House and period telephones were well handled. A nice touch in this show was the addition of live opening music for each act. George Curry gave a great solo performance to open the show with a period rendition of Robbie Williams’ 2019 song It’s a Wonderful Life, and Jessica Drucker, Emma Gilby and Jessica Wall sang live the Andrews Sisters’ Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy at the opening of the second act, as opposed to simply using a recording as the script suggests.

Wardrobe by Yvonne Bartlett and Ruth Burton all seemed appropriate and fitted the status of each character. Potter’s overall appearance was clearly higher-status than the Baileys, who were better dressed than some of their customers, for example. As mentioned, some characters spent some time in the audience, and were right in front of me, so I was able to see that even as minor characters they were costumed appropriately, as were the ‘Andrews Sisters’. I think most characters each had a single costume, as opposed to marking changes in time with different ones: this helped with identification in what could otherwise lead to confusion, especially as actors were playing duplicates roles. It was also a good choice to make Clarissa a version of a ‘land girl’. My only real comments are I was a little surprised at the vivid brightness of Mary’s red dress and, while not strictly costume, I thought Violet’s short blond wig might have been more in character if it had a bit more length so she could toss it.

I didn’t notice too many props which is always the sign of good props work, because they didn’t jar. Barbara Foster, Linda Miles and Georgie Palmer provided all the period props for the various scenes – the office, the bar and the pharmacy. Everything appeared appropriate and again the apparent simplicity of props fitted the overall style of the production.

In terms of acting, this was an excellent company of actors. Many people successfully doubled roles, and the cast were all supportive of each other. In total you cast 16 people, and I think this was a far more successful approach than just using the minimal four. All accents were acceptable and were even across the cast: we don’t know where Bedford Falls actually is, but we can assume it’s in the New York area.

Steve Deaville was onstage throughout and gave a great performance as the likeable but flawed George Bailey. There were subtle echoes of Jimmy Stewart, but this was not a copycat performance – he brought something of himself to the role. George’s caring approach to everyone he meets as each challenge is thrown his way was very credible and he clearly portrayed George’s emotional journey up to the point of contemplating suicide. This actor clearly understood the role of George and overall had a great impact on the audience.

As George’s wife Mary, Emma Gilby also gave a very fine performance. She was engaging throughout to the audience and to George: together they made a very credible couple. Her love for George clearly shone through in the performance and her demeanour, and she offered strong characterisation. Together their ‘chance of a lifetime’ phone call scene stood out to me as one of her highlights.

As Clarissa Oddbody, Samantha Day gave a lovely performance: clearly caring and concerned for George and also anxious to get her wings. This is a difficult role as often she’s on the sidelines of the action, but this actress made her presence felt throughout the performance. As Uncle Billy, Paul Russell offered great emotional range – from the highs of his pride in the Bailey brothers’ achievements, to his distress when he loses $8,000. There were some lovely comic touches in this performance. Andy Mills gave a credibly evil performance as Mr Potter, the pantomime villain of the piece who did actually get booed during the curtain call on the night I was in! This actor offered the required grandeur and stature in both his vocal range and posture.

Other actors all took several small named parts as well as playing characters in the Building & Loan scene. The point of most of these characters is to show their relationship with George and the impact that his small acts of kindness have had on them, and as such they were all very effective.

Keith Thompson played Mr Gower with the correct anger at his son’s death and then with pathos when we see him in the alternative scene wandering around in a string vest. It took me a while to realise just one actress, Jessica Drucker, was playing both main parts of Violet Bick and Sam Wainwright as there was such difference in her characterisation: she was particularly engaging and effective as George’s lifelong friend, Sam. Chris White gave a nice turn as Bert the cop and also played the contrasting reasonable Ed and the furious Welch. Jessica Wall played three men, Harry, Randall and Martini, complete with cod Italian-American accent. Robyn Rae Meyer looked and sounded convincing as the angel Gloria, as well as playing glamorous new wife Ruth and Mrs Thompson. All these actors made the most of these small roles, some of whom only have a few lines. Each was a believable character in their own right and it’s a credit to you all that there was no weak link in the production. 

Special mention must be made of the younger actors involved, four of whom played the younger versions of the adult characters, Young George (Jonah Cook), Young Mary (Melissa Chapman), Young Sam (Huxley Lewis) and Young Harry / Violet (Norah Vahdat). All gave extremely strong performances, often in scenes where there were no adults on the stage. Early on, Jonah, Huxley and Norah held our attention in the ice-skating scene. Unfortunately, from where I was sitting, I couldn’t see the big moment where Harry breaks through the ice, but I hope it was convincing. There was some nice comic timing between the three of them where they make up a story about trying to rescue Mrs Holloway’s cat (an example of dialogue that’s not in the film). The action continued into the pharmacy scene where Melissa clearly portrayed Mary’s early romantic interest in George and then Jonah tugged at our heartstrings in a scene with Gower whom he saves from poisoning a customer. All these characterisations were extremely good and it was totally credible that they were the younger versions of older characters. The fifth youngster, Kaya Shoker, played an angel in the heaven scenes very well. All five gave really strong, confident performances: their vocals were clear at all times and matched the level of the adult actors in the show. I expect to see them in future Barn productions.

Overall, Rob Graham’s production was wonderfully slick and flowed nicely in each act, but it didn’t cut corners. The pace was high throughout, and there were some nice groupings, for example the opening tableau where people prayed for intervention for George. As previously mentioned, you clearly made the best use of the theatre which made this an extremely engaging production. The direction delivered all the required elements of humour and pathos and, as mentioned, you also made life harder by adding in elements that are not in the script – live music, a war sequence, and also a lovey homage to Laurel and Hardy: a dancing section where Bert and Ernie are setting up the Granvile house as the Baileys’ new home. In all elements there was just the right tone taken with respect of not copying the film but giving little nods to it, which certainly pleased me as a fan of the original.

The director clearly understood what this play is all about: this production demonstrated that traditional storytelling delivered with skill and care can really connect with an audience and open their eyes to the impact that each of us can make on our local community.

It was great to see you doing such a production at Christmas, and it’s obviously what the public want to see as it was a total sellout. It was a powerful message: your production made me cry the required number of times…

“No man is a failure who has friends.”