The Last Estate present their The Great Christmas Feast show for the eighth year running, a mix of dining experience and storytelling (A Christmas Carol). The production is supporting The Felix Project, which aims to help feed Londoners in poverty.
FOOD
Tucked away on a quiet side street near West Kensington Station, The Lost Estate offers a dining experience designed to complement its immersive theatre.
After passing a compact Dickens exhibition – worth a quick look, as you won’t leave the same way – guests enter the author’s “Victorian home,” dressed for Christmas and ready to host around a hundred diners.
The meal is served in stages around the unfolding drama. Starters come as a choice of three; the potted beef and potted salmon, both rich and well-seasoned, proved especially satisfying – there is also a cheese option.
The main course offers two options, though in practice it’s duck for most guests unless opting for the vegetarian alternative.
The duck arrives tender and full of flavour, complemented by a bowl of potatoes shared convivially around the table. Dessert is a single selection for all, neatly rounding off the menu.
Tickets include a selection of cocktails or mocktails, although one of the three mocktails had sold out before service began.
Our group settled for cups of non-alcoholic wassail (an aromatic blend of chestnut, ginger and honey) which suited the festive setting, even if not our first choice.
Additional drinks, food, and upgrades, from canapés to champagne, are available depending on ticket tier.
SHOW
A Christmas Carol unfolds across three acts, using multiple stages and clever technical touches to animate Dickens’s story.
Lamps flicker, windows glow, and pockets of the room come alive as scenes shift, giving the sense of exploring the author’s home alongside the performers.
Tama Phethean leads the piece as Charles Dickens, delivering a lively, engaging turn that carries much of the narrative.
He is supported by three musicians introduced as ‘Copperfield’ (cello), ‘Turveydrop’ (violin) and ‘Pumblechook’ (percussion), and a ‘household’ of additional staff.
Aside from brief appearances from Belle and the boy sent to fetch the prize turkey, this is essentially a one-man retelling: intimate, atmospheric, and well suited to the close-up nature of the venue.
With seating options ranging from shared tables to private or VIP arrangements, The Lost Estate offers a festive, immersive take on a familiar classic, combining hearty dining with evocative storytelling.
4.5 stars.
The Great Christmas Feast continues until 4 Jan, with sittings at 1pm and 7pm each day (except 24 Dec & 31 Dec, 1pm only and 25 Dec & 1 Jan, no perfs). Tickets – from £169.50 + VAT – and details here.
Images from A Christmas Carol courtesy of The Lost Estate