ZooNation and hip hop meet Charles Dickens in Ebony Scrooge

Sadler’s Wells East, London
December 4, 2025

It is Dickens. Well, sort of. If not quite as we know it. Choreographer Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe and ZooNation give the author’s A Christmas Carol more than a twist or two in a 21st-century hip hop makeover that turns Ebeneezer into Ebony, a successful designer, founder and owner of a fashion empire.

In the lead role, Leah Hill presented a picture of a sharp, domineering and formidable boss. Unlike Dickens’ Ebeneezer, while she is clearly rich, for the entitled Ebony life is more about power, control and image. You just get the feeling that social media numbers might just mean more than anything. As we see when she appears in her workshop, she’s the sort of person who sends a shiver, a frisson of fear through the room. That her creations very much come in monochrome black and white speaks volumes, especially when set against the colour and warmth of the opening scenes full of Christmas jumpers, presents and festive tunes.

Just as Ebony’s employees are looking forward to a Christmas party her niece, Freddie (Portia Oti) is throwing, they get another nightmare. With a seriously important fashion show fast approaching, their boss has decided their Christmas would be better spent getting the new designs finished rather than with friends or family.

But Ebony is about to get some nightmares all of her own. Falling asleep in the workshop, she gets visited by the familiar ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. First up, and by far the least effective, is the Ghost of Christmas Present, who removes her snappy boots and replaces them with trainers. Then to Christmas Future, where she’s surrounded by a number of disturbing figures in red.

Up to this point, Ebony is only sketched as a character. As with the story’s other lead figures, there’s little depth to her. So much so, that you just wonder if she is simply all gloss and no substance. But then come the ghosts Christmas Past, not so much as individuals but as a series of scenes that take the viewer back to her Caribbean roots and that go a long way to explaining where she came from, and how she got to be who, what, she now is.

The reordering of the ghosts, and the focus on her rediscovering herself, reconnecting with her past, means that the story lacks that sense of epiphany that’s there in the Dickens, however.

The dancing is terrific. Every single member of the cast bursts with energy and athleticism. Everything is so sharp, so precise, it takes your breath away. The togetherness in the unison moments is among the best you will ever see. Lecointe’s choreography draws largely on a number of hip hop styles including locking, house and vogue, although also makes space for the likes of Caribbean tradition during the Christmas Past scene. It’s always very good but is particularly impressive in the ensemble numbers, even if the narrative does more than once feel paused to allow for them. But then classical ballet is hardly immune from that too.

The rest of the creative team play their part to the full too. Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante’s music is superb. Like Lecointe, he was born and bred in East London, and some of that is embodied into the sounds, including that of a ship’s horn that brings echoes of Windrush. I do wish the Christmas music heard at the beginning could have returned for the upbeat end, though.

Top marks too for Charlie Morgan Jones’ lighting. The way the striplights that surround the action change colour and pattern to reflect the action and changing moods of the work is very effective. Natalie Pryce’s costumes are special too. Some of Ebony’s creations would indeed grace any catwalk.

While it doesn’t tick every box, Ebony Scrooge is a bold reimagining. A first ever Christmas show for Sadler’s Wells East, it’s one the theatre can be proud of, even if it does lose a fair bit of the Christmas from A Christmas Carol. The opening apart, it could be set at almost any time of the year. But it is a vibrant celebration of people, culture and history; a show worth seeing for the fantastic dancing alone. And one that will send most people home very happy indeed.

Ebony Scrooge by ZooNation is at Sadler’s Wells East to January 4, 2026.