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The Telling

What the Dickens?

Clare Norburn, Nicholas Renton, Clive Hayward, Karen Ascoe, Alexander Knox, Rosa Lennox, Steven Edis, Rosalind Ford
What the Dickens?
A spellbinding theatre piece with music by award-winning writer Clare Norburn and BAFTA-nominated director Nicholas Renton, soundtracked by colourful Victorian popular songs and street music, old carols and lively folk dance music performed by a multi-talented cast of seven who act, sing, dance and play instruments: sometimes all at the same time!

It’s Charles Dickens’ last Christmas Eve: 1869. Against his doctor’s wishes, he gives one of his acclaimed theatrical readings ofA 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, which has created the very quintessence of Christmas, starts to unravel as he is haunted by the women he 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?

“mesmerising” - The Guardian on The Telling
“an exploration of the boundaries between art and life...intelligent… finds new terrain” - The Guardian on Clare Norburn’s writing


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  • date Sun 1 December 2024
  • location All Saints Centre, Lewes
  • time 7:30pm
  • ticket £5-22

Full Event Details

A spellbinding theatre piece with music by award-winning writer Clare Norburn and BAFTA-nominated director Nicholas Renton, soundtracked by colourful Victorian popular songs and street music, old carols and lively folk dance music performed by a multi-talented cast of seven who act, sing, dance and play instruments: sometimes all at the same time!

It’s Charles Dickens’ last Christmas Eve: 1869. Against his doctor’s wishes, he gives one of his acclaimed theatrical readings ofA 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, which has created the very quintessence of Christmas, starts to unravel as he is haunted by the women he 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?

“mesmerising” - The Guardian on The Telling
“an exploration of the boundaries between art and life...intelligent… finds new terrain” - The Guardian on Clare Norburn’s writing

Venue Details & Map

Location

All Saints Centre, Lewes
All Saints Centre, Friars Walk, Lewes BN7 2LE, UK

Previous performances

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