OUTSTANDING NEW PLAY WITH MUSIC BY CLARE NORBURN
It’s Charles Dickens’ last Christmas Eve: 1869. Against his doctor’s wishes, he gives one of his acclaimed theatrical readings of A Christmas Carol: but from the moment the lights go down, his life becomes strangely entangled with his character Scrooge. Dickens’ carefully managed image as a family man, who has created the very quintessence of Christmas starts to unravel. He is haunted by the women he has mistreated, who force him to face up to his past, present and future. Can Dickens learn from the ghosts, repent - and be saved, as Scrooge was saved?
The fully-staged show is directed by BAFTA-nominated director Nicholas Renton, features stunning lighting design by Natalie Rowland and soundtracked by lively Victorian street music, haunting carols, folk music from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century and incidental music by Steven Edis performed by The Telling.
LINE UP
Clive Hayward, Charles Dickens
Karen Ascoe, Catherine Dickens
Molly Lynch, Ellen Ternan / voice
Alexander Knox, actor / violin / voice
Rosa Lennox, actor / accordion
Clare Norburn, voice / actor / percussion
Steven Edis, keyboard
Directed by Nicholas Renton
Written & produced by Clare Norburn
Music composed & arranged by Steve Edis
Costume Designer Madeleine Edis
Lighting Designer Natalie Rowland
THANKS TO OUR FUNDERS
The What the Dickens 2023 tour is supported by The Marchus Trust, The Golsoncott Foundation, Scops Arts Trust and The Radcliffe Trust. The Ulverston performance is supported by the Sir John Fisher Foundation.
Photo: Sisi Burn
TOUR