THE Yuletide season came early for audiences at Milton Keynes Theatre last week when the Northern Ballet Theatre delighted with the highly festive A Christmas Carol.

But, without wanting to sound like the old curmudgeon, Scrooge, I couldn't help muttering "ba humbug" at having to hear "Ding Dong Merrily on High" in the middle of October.

The fake snowflakes were fine, even watching a truly wondrous re-telling of the Dickens' classic, but the joyful rendition of carols was a step too far. I don't officially recognise the Spirit of Christmas until December 24.

The Northern Ballet Theatre, which counts MKT as their southern base, celebrated their 40th anniversary in fine style – with a slice of luscious cake for invited guests, and an almost flawless performance of one of their landmark productions.

Artistic director David Nixon can be justly proud of his achievements with the NBT. His creativity in recent years has helped further the prestigious reputation of a company which, only a few months ago, brought us the atmospheric Wuthering Heights.

Last week we were treated to a slice of nostalgia. Christmas isn't Christmas without A Christmas Carol – whether it's The Muppets on TV or Jim Carrey's new movie at the multiplexes. To see it performed as a ballet was both innovative and enchanting.

We're so used to a story that is so rich in the language of Dickens and Victorian England that it came as a surprise to see how well it worked on a purely visual level.

NBT veteran Darren Goldsmith made an admirable Scrooge with Christopher Hinton-Lewis playing the younger man, but it was Hironao Takahashi as his oppressed and over-worked clerk Bob Cratchit who entranced with his dance (though he always looked so pleased when the man was supposed to be down-trodden!)

This was very much a company performance with more than 20 dancers and ensemble which meant, at times, the stage, vast though it was, looked crowded and overly busy.

But the Lee Brotherston set and costumes were glorious (though a black-cloth showing Big Ben next to St Paul's was taking a liberty with the city's geography).

Each scene was bathed in a gloomy palate of greys until the advent of the Fezziwig Ball where we learned the source of Scrooge's unhappiness. Life for Scrooge and his fellow Londoner's couldn't have been more visually bleak.

Some of the phantoms, led by the Angel of Death, that haunted the miser were outright scary, their ethereal costumes and masks making this a very adult rendition of the classic tale.

NBT return in April with another seasonal classic – not an Easter story though but the Christmas favourite Peter Pan.