When I started out reviewing theatre, I briefly fantasised about critiquing restaurants too, then sensibly stuck to what I knew. Years later, The Lost Estate’s The Great Christmas Feast finally lets me do both – the clue is in the title.
Tucked away on an industrial estate in West Kensington, The Lost Estate have built a vast, tent-like venue dedicated to immersive storytelling. For this festive outing, guests slip through a shadowy, mysterious corridor into a pocket-sized Dickens museum before emerging into a spectacular Victorian fantasia. Think thousands of books, antique crockery, a laundry-strewn kitchen, even a bedroom with an enormous bed – every inch meticulously dressed. A wooden platform at the centre serves as the stage, with dining tables radiating outwards.
The three-course meal is served between the three acts of the play. Starters come “potted”: beef, hot-smoked salmon, or cheese – the choice is yours. My beef was on the dense side; the salmon, I’m told by my companion, was lovely. With neither of us vegetarians, we were served the roast duck leg main – with delicious crispy potatoes, parsnip purée, red cabbage – all excellent, and impressively hot for mass catering, which is a difficult skill to master. Dessert was a rich Twelfth Night cake with brandy butter ice cream – divine. Drinks flow freely, with the Smoking Bishop cocktail doing a roaring trade. Unexpectedly, the food was rich, sumptuous and in keeping with the theme of the long evening; it was nearly four hours from the time we entered to the time we left.
The show itself is a one-man performance with Tama Phethean delivering Dickens and his entire cast of characters from A Christmas Carol, aided and abetted by a marvellous trio of musicians on cello, violin and percussion. He occasionally veers into Bill Sikes territory when playing Scrooge (Alastair Sim he isn’t – or should that be ain’t), but otherwise it’s an agile, witty tour de force, and his portrayal of all the other various characters, male and female, was spot-on using just a few props and his voice. There’s even some audience participation—my fellow reviewer Richard from Broadway Baby earned his moment under the gaslight, who not only was dressed for the part (you’re encouraged by the producers to dress up either in period costume or smartly – no trainers!) but he acted superbly too.
Production values are West End calibre: Peter Small’s lighting and Sebastian Frost’s sound conjure thunder, ghosts and old London atmospherics with flair and the use of the central stage with its door frame and trapdoor was very creative. Less successful are the script’s modern asides—“get in”, “pumped”, even a burst of Wham’s Last Christmas —which puncture the Victorian spell. There’s also some gratuitous swearing which sounded like the writers were pandering to an audience who hadn’t been shy with the Smoking Bishops and was mainly made up of people who wanted a good night out or an office party jolly and probably wanted to avoid traditional pantomimes.
Still, this is a lush, cleverly choreographed blend of dinner and Dickens – the very spirit of Christmas as told in A Christmas Carol. Just be warned: it’s not a bargain as tickets come in three tiers priced at £173.50, £204.45 and £284.45 each (including booking fees) – and that doesn’t include buying any Flaming Bishops!
Review by Alan Fitter
It is Christmas Eve, 1843, and you’re an honoured guest in the writer Charles Dickens’ parlour. You have been invited to hear him share his newest ghostly festive story – A Christmas Carol. The tables are set, the snow falls outside and over the course of the night, you watch and listen as Dickens himself introduces you to his entrancing spectral characters, in what will become the world’s most famous cautionary tale…
Tama Phethean – Charles Dickens
Guy Button – Turveydrop / Violin
Beth Higham-Edwards – Pumblechook / Percussion
Kieran Carter – Copperfield / Assistant MD / Cello
Original production co-created by Adam Clifford, Steffan Rees and The Lost Estate
Based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Written and adapted by Adam Clifford
THE GREAT CHRISTMAS FEAST
The Lost Estate
14 November 2025 to 4 January 2026
