Sh!t-faced Showtime Review: A "Pissedmas" Cocktail of Fun and Giggles, But It's Not Quite There

★★★ | If you’re looking for some boozy fun this winter, Sh!t-Faced Showtime: A Pissedmas Carol may be just the theatrical spectacle for you. The premise is exactly as the name describes: each member of the cast takes turns to be absolutely inebriated while the company performs (or, at least, endeavours to perform) a rendition of A Christmas Carol, the festive season classic by Charles Dickens. Peals of laughter ring through as said actor makes a number of hysterical, drunken mistakes, whilst his co-stars improvise in desperate attempts to save the script.

At my show, the drunkard in question was Fraser Adams, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present, Jacob Marley and Mrs Fezziwig. Admittedly, there are some hilarious moments. In one scene, Marley is meant to warn Scrooge, a miser, that he must show penance on Christmas Day to avoid spending an eternity in purgatory. Instead, Adams, as Marley, is reduced to a fit of giggles and forgets the crucial piece of information he is meant to deliver. He then breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience that Daniel Quirke, who plays Scrooge, is actually as handsome as Orlando Bloom, while Quirke clearly fights to suppress his laughter. 

Elsewhere, Adams (as Mrs Fezziwig) flirts with an audience member and coerces him to sing ‘Hello’ by Lionel Richie. It’s quite an interactive show too – at one point, an audience member is handed a percussive instrument and told to shake it if they want Adams to down another can of hard liquor. 

The company of A Pissed-mas Carol. Image supplied by the production.

But the joke gets old fast – after a while, watching this production is sort of like watching your drunk uncle make a fool of himself in front of guests while other family members try and salvage the situation. The plot of A Christmas Carol, while somewhat recognisable in the beginning, is barely present from the second act onwards. This might as well have been a Sh!t-Faced Showtime of any other play.

If you’re just looking to watch someone get absolutely hammered on stage and deliver incomprehensible lines, then this production would be just the thing for you. But if you’re looking for something more – a humorous, light-hearted subversion of a classic tale, but with the original thematic anchors of redemption, empathy, and generosity, this would sadly miss the mark. 

When all is said and done though, this show is – in true Ebenezer Scrooge fashion – somewhat redeemed by its cast members, all of whom are genuinely quite funny. So if you’re out of things to do this Christmas season and are craving a bit of a laugh, Sh!t-Faced Showtime may be worth your money after all. 

★★★

Sh!t-Faced Showtime: A Pissedmas Carol plays at Leicester Square Theatre until 11 January, 2025.