There are many traditions that create our personal build up to Christmas from the first glass of mulled wine, to putting on lights, to reading a Christmas story.

For me, one of the most enjoyable and heart-warming experiences is seeing an OVO play!

Herts Advertiser: 'A Christmas Carol' at the Roman Theatre in St Albans'A Christmas Carol' at the Roman Theatre in St Albans (Image: Knut Aage Dahl)

After their outstanding traverse production of Charles Dickens’ 'The Chimes' in the town centre last year, my hopes were set high.

This year’s choice of 'A Christmas Carol', and the venue of the Roman Theatre has created a ripple of excitement all over St. Albans.

OVO have used the Roman Theatre space very creatively over the last eight years but in 'A Christmas Carol' they take this to an even higher level.

They embrace every nook and cranny of the space and using natural nightfall and zonal fairy lighting gives it a real edge.

The fabulous cast of 10 demonstrated excellent outdoor performance skills; they continued the story completely in character despite helicopters overhead, road noise and the very cold weather.

They took it in turns to lead us through the various settings, sometimes surprising us along the way by starting dialogue behind us!

Herts Advertiser: 'A Christmas Carol' at the Roman Theatre in St Albans'A Christmas Carol' at the Roman Theatre in St Albans (Image: Knut Aage Dahl)

I would like to give a particular shout out to Katie Hamilton and Emma Durkin for their scene setting skills – they managed the promenade aspect of the event so well by moving amongst audience with singing and banter along the way.

Jilly Bond was an excellent Scrooge; she portrayed his emotional journey with sensitivity and a touch of humour throughout.

I have often seen this role played in a heavy-handed way but since Dickens’ great skill as a writer is to portray gritty realism with a wry perspective, Bond’s performance was spot on.

However, this show was a team effort and the quality of acting in the whole cast was outstanding. If I had space to name them all I would!

As a great advocate of immersive theatre, the highlight for me was the Fezziwig’s Christmas party which took place in central pit of the theatre.

We all sang “Jingle Bells” as we walked to the party and were warmly welcomed by the Fezziwigs.

The decorations were enchanting and the mulled wine and vegan brownies a great hit. Most of the audience even joined in with the dancing too; it really was a magical experience!

The original text was well adapted for the cast size and venue. The doubling up was well thought through by director Adam Nichols and executed brilliantly the company.

Any small omissions from the original text did not this detract from the spirit of the story and in fact it really concentrated the action. This was important for an outdoor production on a cold night!

So if you like a traditional Christmas story, decorations and mulled wine you are in luck- you get all three at this gorgeous production.

The December weather might be cold but the story is so heart-warming and this promenade production so energetic and immersive that it will warm you right to your heart. Bravo OVO!