One bitter Christmas Eve, a cold-hearted miser is visited by four ghosts. Transported to worlds past, present and future, Ebenezer Scrooge witnesses what a lifetime of fear and selfishness has led to, and sees with fresh eyes the lonely life he has built for himself. Can Ebenezer be saved before it's too late?
Jack Thorne's joyous adaptation of Charles Dickens's timeless classic premiered at The Old Vic, London, in 2017, in a production directed by Matthew Warchus, and starring Rhys Ifans as Ebenezer Scrooge. It was revived at the Old Vic in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
'Dickens' tale of personal conscience and moral responsibility might be more relevant that ever... Thorne doesn't shirk the anger at social attitudes towards poverty, but also delivers a rousing festive feast that will leave even the most miserly curmudgeon filled with redemptive joy'
- Radio Times
'Dickensian and modern, clever and heartfelt, gripping and touching and tuneable and serious and sometimes funny... its marvellously heartfelt Christmas quality would delight the original author'
- TheatreCat
'Magical... Thorne's adaptation is traditional but with a modern twist that delights'
- The Times
'Jack Thorne's new version of Dickens' story stands high on my list of favourites... combines the social anger with a genuine sense of festivity... this is Dickens done with love and affection. The fable's warning about the danger of treating poverty as if it were a moral vice could also hardly be more timely'
- Guardian
'Provides everything you might want from a theatrical adaptation of Dickens's timeless (and never more timely) morality tale urging social responsibility and compassion... the new adaptation by Jack Thorne fuses fun with the macabre and a fine degree of psychological depth... both witty and deeply affecting'
- Independent
'There is a contemporary resonance to it... a love song to Christmas and the redeeming power of theatre'
- Observer
'Incredibly atmospheric... Jack Thorne's relatively faithful adaptation lets Dickens' words do their work, but then opens things up in a second half that is emotionally rich and, on occasion, truly moving'
- The Stage
