Adrian Edmondson cast as Scrooge in RSC’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Photo credit: Hugo Glendinning
It has been announced that Adrian Edmondson will play Ebenezer Scrooge in the RSC’s revival of David Edgar’s adaptation of Dickens’ much-loved classic story A Christmas Carol, running at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from 26 October-1 January 2023.
David Edgar’s socially-conscious adaptation of Dickens’ classic fable initially opened in 2017 to critical acclaim in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, where it played to sell-out audiences. The production was revived the following year due to audience demand.
This festive tale of redemption and compassion follows cold-hearted businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, who – over the course of one ghostly Christmas night – learns to pity himself and to love his neighbour – but is that enough?
Edmondson said: “A Christmas Carol in an extraordinary book. It’s been in print continuously since 1843. So it must be saying something very important that catches our imagination. A lot of people think it’s about Scrooge and ghosts, which of course it is, but at the heart of it, it’s about poverty and our individual reaction to it. So it couldn’t be more relevant today than it has been in the past 30-40 years. Not since rationing really. Actual poverty in our streets. People at food banks. That’s the driving force of it for Dickens. He’d read a report on poverty and was considering writing this as a dry pamphlet, but wrote it as a story because he thought it would connect more. And, of course, it does. So it’s hard to find a play that’s more relevant, especially one you might enjoy.
“I’m really looking forward to playing Scrooge. Why, you might ask, would you watch a show about a really horrible person? You watch it because you’re cheering him on, urging him to become a better person. You’re on his side, you want him to turn. I think that makes him one of the most fundamentally interesting characters in literature, and a great part to play.”
Joining Adrian will be Sunetra Sarker (Casualty, Ackley Bridge) who makes her RSC debut as The Ghost of Christmas Present., alongside Beth Alsbury as Hinge, Lauren Arney as Belinda, Sally Cheng as Isabel, Eamonn Cox (Swing), Rachel Denning as Mrs Baldock, Gavin Fowler as Charles Dickens, Clive Hayward as Fezziwig, Jack Humphrey as Tim, Beruce Khan as John Forster, Rebecca Lacey as The Ghost of Christmas Past, Bethany Linsdell as Caroline, Michael Lyle as Father, Alexander Moneypenny (Swing), Conor O’Hara (Swing), Emma Pallant as Mrs Cratchit, Joseph Prowen as Fred, Rachel Seirian (Swing), Oliver Senton as Uber, Mitesh Soni as Bob Cratchit, Liyah Summers as Fanny, Giles Taylor as Marley and Georgie Westall (Swing).
A Christmas Carol is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with design by Stephen Brimson Lewis, lighting by Tim Mitchell, music by Catherine Jayes, sound by Fergus O’Hare, and movement by Georgina Lamb.
For more information and to book tickets, please click here.
