SYNOPSIS
Find Tickets
A Christmas Carol
It wouldn’t be Christmas without the appearance of some well known seasonal classics in the West End and 2009 will be no exception with the arrival of “A Christmas Carol” to the Arts Theatre from November.
The Charles Dickens classic will be opening its doors to a unique production that will see Gareth Hale take on the iconic role of Ebenezer Scrooge, whilst a brand new Scrooge-like character appears in a unique revamped plot.
This version of the story introduces us to a new Christmas-hating character who takes the form of Sidney who finds himself locked inside a theatre during Christmas with his nephew Denny by his side.
But the story does not end there, for there is an eager audience waiting in the auditorium, hoping to witness “A Christmas Carol” once more. It means that it’s up to Sidney and Denny, as well as a team of out-of-work actors, the theatre’s resident cat, and a mouse with stage fright, to put on the show. It is an unexpected team taking the helm and whether they can pull it off or not remains to be seen.
But it means that we get a unique production as Scrooge takes the form of comedian Gareth Hale, who performs alongside Simon Lipkin, Rebecca Thornhill and Michael Matus.
Many know Hale as one half of the double act Hale and Pace, who appeared in a range of television programmes in the 1980s and 1990s. Some may have noticed early appearances on television in the cult sitcom “The Young Ones”, but their other credits include “Hale & Pace”, “The Management”, “Jobs For The Boys”, “Pushing Up Daisies” and “The Saturday Gang”. However, Hale has also made numerous solo appearances in the likes of “Family Affairs” for Channel 5 and “The Royal” for ITV, as well as theatrical credits in John Godber’s “Bouncers” and Trevor Nunn’s “My Fair Lady”, both of which were touring productions.
Whilst he takes on the iconic 19th century grump, directing duties fall on Susie McKenna, a regular player at the Hackney Empire where she has directed a range of pantomimes for the stage. She is also a performer and her credits both on the stage and behind the scenes include “Ragtime”, “Cats”, “Chicago” and “One Night Stand”.
“A Christmas Carol” will make its appearance at the Arts Theatre from Wednesday 25th November 2009 (previews from Wednesday 11th November 2009) until Sunday 10th January 2010.
