Everything you need to know about A Christmas Carol

Matthew Warchus’s production of A Christmas Carol returns to the Old Vic for its tenth Christmas season, ensuring plenty of Christmas spirit to go round. Adapted by Jack Thorne from Charles Dickens’s classic novella, this year’s Ebenezer Scrooge is played by West End star Giles Terera. Here’s what you need to know about the production and why it’s a staple of the festive season.

Every December, London’s theatregoers are treated to a slate of festive shows, but few have become as much a part of the season as A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic. Now returning for its tenth year, this staging, directed by Matthew Warchus and adapted by Jack Thorne, continues to wow audiences. Many Londoners even treat the production as a yearly Christmas tradition.

It has become one of London’s most dependable festive productions, and if you’re planning a trip or deciding whether or not to book, here’s what you need to know.

View live availability for A Christmas Carol tickets here

Key dates and venue

Theatre and address: The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London SE1 8NB
Booking dates: 12 November 2026 to 9 January 2027
Tickets: See full details here

*John Simm as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic London. Photo by Manuel Harlan*

What is A Christmas Carol about?

Published in 1843, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol follows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, a London businessman who wants nothing to do with Christmas. Then on Christmas Eve, he’s visited by a series of spirits who take him back to his past, show him the people he has been shutting out in the present and warn him of a future he doesn’t want.

The journey forces him to see with fresh eyes the lifetime of fear and selfishness he’s built. But can he be saved before it’s too late?

Though it’s been retold in many forms, this particular production injects plenty of magic and heart into it. Thorne’s adaptation keeps the novella’s warmth and its sharp social edge.

It’s festive and moving, with laughter alongside the darker moments. It’s the kind of evening that’s designed to leave you feeling more generous than when you arrived.

The history of A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens originally wrote A Christmas Carol in about six weeks in the autumn of 1843. It came out just days before Christmas and the first printing sold out almost immediately.

Publication coincided with the ongoing debate in society about poverty. Dickens’s sympathy for the poor came from personal experience: when he was twelve, his father was imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea, and Dickens spent months at a blacking warehouse. This humiliating experience makes an appearance in his other works, like David Copperfield and Little Dorrit.

Dickens’s story struck a nerve, feeding directly into a changing understanding of Christmas as a time for family, generosity and home. Because of the way it captured the world’s attention, the story has become one of Dickens’s most enduring works. Since then it’s been adapted for the stage and the screen again and again.

The Old Vic first staged its production in 2017, and it’s returned for the holidays every year since. This production has also reached beyond London, with a planned run at Lowry, Salford and is returning for an off-Broadway run starring Andy Karl as Scrooge.

*The Company in A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic (2024). Photo by Manuel Harlan*

Starry Scrooge: who’s in it?

One of the biggest draws of the Old Vic production is the fact that the production boasts a different Scrooge almost every year since it opened in 2017. Past actors who have stepped into the role at the Old Vic include:

2017: Rhys Ifans
2018: Stephen Tompkinson
2019: Paterson Joseph
2020: Andrew Lincoln
2021: Stephen Mangan
2022: Owen Teale
2023: Christopher Eccleston
2024: John Simm
2025: Paul Hilton

This year, Scrooge will be played by West End star Giles Terera. He originated the role of Aaron Burr in the London premiere of Hamilton, earning a 2018 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also originated the role of Abraham Lincoln in the critically acclaimed Oh, Mary! by Cole Escola.

Earlier this year, Terera appeared in the Old Vic’s production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest while other theatre credits include Blues for an Alabama Sky, Othello, Hamlet, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Avenue Q and Dr Strangelove.

The creative team

Charles Dickens’s story is adapted for the stage by Olivier-winning playwright Jack Thorne, best known for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. His screen credits include His Dark Materials (BBC), Adolescence (Netflix), Enola Holmes and its subsequent sequels. He also helped write the story for Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

The production is directed by Matthew Warchus, during his tenure as Artistic Director of the Old Vic. He is best known for directing Matilda the Musical and its subsequent film adaptation as well as hit film Pride and its new stage adaptation, PRIDE the Musical.

The creative team includes award-winning set and costume designer Rob Howell, whose designs give the production its sense of Victorian London, with lighting by Tony Award winner Hugh Vanstone, and sound by Simon Baker.

The production also features the work of composer and arranger Christopher Nightingale, whose score, with its carols and seasonal songs, is central to the show’s festive mood.

*Owen Teale as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic 2022. Photo by Manuel Harlan*

Why A Christmas Carol matters

One of the appeals of the story is the hopeful redemption of its main character. Scrooge is not a villain, but a man capable of change. That possibility offers a powerful glimmer of hope, and is perhaps what has kept audiences enthralled for more than 180 years.

This production powerfully adapts the story for the stage, with Thorne’s script adding a theatrical energy that moves between both light and dark, allowing the heavier moments to be felt, and injecting more joyful and humorous moments to balance the story.

It’s a strong adaptation that fills the audience with joy, and pays homage to not just the story, but the compassion that Dickens’s book helped to usher in.

The book arrived at a moment when the meaning of Christmas was changing, and marked a period when charitable giving began to grow through the century, with soup kitchens, Christmas dinners for the poor and the ragged schools expanding alongside the holiday’s growing popularity.

That tradition is still alive at the Old Vic. The theatre has held charity collections during every run of A Christmas Carol, and so far has raised more than £2.3 million. The collection has helped fundraise for different poverty or food charities, including The Felix Project, Coram Beanstalk, City Harvest London and FoodCycle, this year’s recipients.

A man on stage. A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic (2025). Paul Hilton. Photo by Manuel Harlan — *Paul Hilton as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic (2025). Photo by Manuel Harlan*

What to expect on the night

With a runtime of 2 hours, this is a show that keeps the story concise without losing any of the deeper meaning. The production features carols, moving music, and some truly delightful moments of audience participation that engage the crowd, no matter where you’re sitting.

There are some darker themes within the show, so the recommended age for this show is at 8+. There is also plenty of humour in the show, adding a good balance of levity as Scrooge embarks on his journey of redemption.

If you’re looking for something that rouses that sense of festive joy, A Christmas Carol will deliver that in spades.

Is A Christmas Carol worth seeing?

Absolutely. There’s a reason audiences return year after year, as each Scrooge adds their own unique take on the iconic character. This seasonal show is full of heart, and you’d be hard-pressed to leave the theatre without feeling the joyful, heartwarming impact of the production.

Reviews across the ten years of its run have been very positive, with the Evening Standard calling the show a “joyful, bravura piece of stagecraft” and Daily Mail praising it as a “Dickensian feast for the eyes.”

Theatre Weekly commented that “year after year, it earns its place as one of London’s most enchanting festive experiences.” It’s clear that, while each actor who portrays Scrooge may bring a different flavour to the role, the production as a whole is an endearing and triumphant piece of theatre.

It has certainly earned its place as a beloved adaptation of one of the most famous stories in English literature.

Book tickets to A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic here

Plan your visit to A Christmas Carol

Theatre: The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London SE1 8NB
Booking dates: from 12 November 2026 until 9 January 2027
Running time: 2 hours, including interval
Age guidance: suitable for ages 8+
Getting there: Waterloo Underground station is the closest tube station, and Waterloo and Waterloo East are the nearest train stations
Access: current accessible performances include Audio Described performances on 12 December 2026 at 2pm (Touch Tour 11.45am) and 04 January 2027 at 7pm (Touch Tour 5pm); BSL performances on 12 December 2026 at 2pm and 05 January 2027 at 7pm; Captioned: performances on 12 December 2026 at 2pm and 14 December 2026 at 7pm; and a Relaxed (also Audio Described, Captioned and BSL Interpreted) performance on 12 December 2026 at 2pm (Touch Tour 11.45am).
Tickets: see more information here