The Lost Estate: The Great Christmas Feast Review

December 3, 2025

The Lost Estate: The Great Christmas Feast Review

2nd December 2025

In an unassuming road there is an unassuming door and behind that unassuming door there is an unassuming hallway. Through that unassuming hallway, however, there lies The Lost Estate.

Last night we stepped back in time to Victorian London, to experience The Great Christmas Feast. Now in its eighth year, the evening promises to transport you to Christmas Eve, 1843, where Charles Dickens welcomes a handful of guests to hear A Christmas Carol read aloud for the very first time. Except that instead of a handful, there is a warehouse full.

“little extras would make so much difference to the experience”

David Alwyn gives an exceptional performance as Dickens and, as is often the case, the other characters in the novel too. Alwyn switches between the well-spoken Dickens and Cockney Ebenezer Scrooge effortlessly, along with a host of other characters. Alwyn commands the room, which is no mean feat, given the size. Members of the audience were brought up on stage a couple of times during the production to deliver lines, which added a nice touch. The production, however, would have benefitted from more actors playing the other characters, filling more of the space.

The performance is accompanied by professional musicians Guy Button (violin), Charlotte Kaslin (cello) and Stan Talman (percussion), who do a stellar job in creating a dark and brooding atmosphere to accompany this sombre piece of literature. The music did sound rather familiar to The Lost Estate’s production of The Great Murder Mystery in 2024 but it is effective and fitting, nonetheless.

We are treated to a three-course meal and four period cocktails throughout the evening. Head chef Rob Hallinan, Executive Chef Ash Clarke and their team must be commended for designing and producing such a tasty selection of dishes, comprising potted rare breed beef/ hot smoked salmon/cheese, roast duck leg/vegetarian Pithivier of King Oyster Mushroom with shiitake, winter herbs and rich jus and traditional Christmas pudding with ice cream and crème anglaise. The cocktails were equally as delicious. My only criticism would be that if I had paid almost £250 for a VIP ticket, I would have felt rather short changed. Nouvelle Cuisine it was, Christmas Feast it was not. Even just some greens to accompany the potatoes during the main course would have been appreciated.

The set has been designed by Darling & Edge, who have pitched it perfectly. Whilst the main stage in the centre is bare, the other smaller stages at three sides of the room represent different rooms of Dickens’ house.

The staff were all wonderful, from the actor in character at the front desk checking everyone in, to the charming waiters and waitresses. Unfortunately, it was short staffed on the evening we attended, and so we did not see our lovely waitress as much as we would have liked, and no additional drinks or side dish orders were taken after the initial menu presentation.

It was a fun evening, but something was lacking. We were sat at the furthermost table from the stage, which I’m sure didn’t help, but compared to The Great Murder Mystery, and despite the best efforts of all the cast and crew, it sadly didn’t meet my expectations for the price being charged for tickets. With a few additions as mentioned above, this production could deliver so much more. The Lost Estate states that the show sells out each year, so they clearly have no problem getting people through the door, but just those little extras would make so much difference to the experience.