Theatre / Christmas show
Peter Baker on playing Dickens’ most famous grouch in ‘Moulin Scrooge’
Rehearsals are well underway for the much-anticipated Moulin Scrooge, the latest in a long series of smash-hit festive mashups at The Wardrobe Theatre that includes Notting Hell, The Good, The Bad & The Coyote Ugly, and MDH: Puppets Do A Movie.
This year’s show is directed by Adam Fuller, co-creative director of Weston-super-Mare’s Front Room Theatre, who are also co-producers.
Following a Bristol run over Christmas 2025 and into the New Year, it will then transfer to Weston for Christmas 2026 into January of 2027.
Peter Baker leads the cast, appearing as Ebeneezer Scrooge. He took a break from the rehearsal room to share some insights with Bristol24/7 about what audiences can expect from the production.
Peter Baker is playing Ebeneezer Scrooge in Moulin Scrooge
What makes Moulin Rouge and Dickens’ famously ungenerous curmudgeon ripe for a festive mashup?
“Notorious grump Ebeneezer Scrooge famously despises excess and you’d be hard pressed to find a more extravagant display of excess than Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge! At their heart, both stories are about finding love and generosity in a world obsessed with money and there’s so much joy in contrasting the glitz and glamour of cabaret against the soot and snow of A Christmas Carol. Pitting our miserly anti-hero against the deceptive charms of the Moulin crew promises spectacle, hijinks and potentially some spooky scares.”
In rehearsal for Moulin Scrooge
Can you take us through your character, and their role in the show?
“I’m playing the cantankerous sourpuss himself, Ebeneezer Scrooge, and he’s definitely not someone you’d want at your office Christmas party. Not that he’d come, mind. My Scrooge is seething with resentment at having to endure yet another Christmas and any goodwill he has is at an all-time low. Nobody in their right mind would dare to approach him for a loan in this mood, not unless they were desperate. And desperation can lead people to go to extremes…”
In rehearsal
As you work on the show together, what is most fun about the rehearsal process?
“I have been laughing so much during rehearsals. My castmates are just brilliant and so much fun to devise with. Our director, Adam Fuller, is great at making a space where we feel free to go nuts and try something new; silly or serious… I also really enjoy the start of the day, when we just freestyle dance to one of the songs on our shared Moulin Scrooge playlist. Oh, and there’s a dog at rehearsals: Dax, our Moulin Pooch. Sadly, she won’t be in the show, but I like to think she’s helped make it.”
Moulin Scrooge will open in Bristol on November 21 and run until mid-January 2026
To what degree are you finding places to improvise, or to take your character in unexpected directions?
“We’ve been given a lot of space to improvise scenes, both alone and together. It’s such a good way to find things about your character and try out dynamics between characters. Early on I got to improvise a lot about Scrooge’s past, his dreams, his desires, his psyche and unexpectedly created a Scrooge that was touching and sympathetic, full of depth and heart… Then we quickly realised, nobody wants to see that Scrooge! We want that dastardly, irascible grouch people love to hate, and bah humbug, that’s what you’re going to get.”
The show moves to Weston in 2026/7
How does it feel different to be developing a Christmas show?
“When developing any show, you’re focused on the story, so the approach is the same. With one of our two source materials being inherently Christmassy, it doesn’t feel like we’ve had to shoehorn any festive cheer in. It has been delicious thinking about all the aspects of Christmas that might wind old Scrooge up though and I must admit, I don’t normally have Christmas carols stuck in my head in October!”
This year’s production will debut at The Wardrobe Theatre and play again at Front Room Theatre in Weston next year. How has community theatre helped to support you in your own career?
“Community theatre has been really integral to my journey as a performer. When I started out, I was a bit older and very new to the world of acting, and local theatres provided me with a space to experiment, explore and learn. As someone who didn’t go to drama school, I got to attend all sorts of workshops by great theatre makers, test out material and try my hand at writing and devising my own work at scratch nights, etc. And now having performed on a wide range of stages, I firmly believe community theatres allow you to have a much more dynamic relationship with your audience: something I find incredibly enriching.”
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Moulin Scrooge is at The Wardrobe Theatre on November 21-January 17; times vary. Tickets are available at www.thewardrobetheatre.com.
All photos: The Wardrobe Theatre / Front Room Theatre
Read next:
- The Wardrobe Theatre and Front Room Theatre join forces for Christmas mashup: ‘Moulin Scrooge’
- Review: Notting Hell: The Greatest Story in the Underworld, The Wardrobe Theatre – ‘As funny a show as you could want in this world, or under it’
- Review: The Good, The Bad & the Coyote Ugly, The Wardrobe Theatre – ‘A delightful evening of high-paced silliness’
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