A Christmas Carol - Jim Broadbent to play Scrooge
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
ACADEMY Award-winning actor Jim Broadbent returns to the stage to play Scrooge in a new version of A Christmas Carol. Adapted by Patrick Barlow (The 39 Steps) from Charles Dickens’ classic tale, it runs at the Noel Coward Theatre from November 30, 2015 to January 30, 2016.
On Christmas Eve, the miser Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by the ghost of his business partner, Jacob Marley. To help Scrooge avoid the ghastly fate that awaits beyond the grave, Marley arranges for him to be visited by three spirits. But can the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future persuade Scrooge to open his heart to the magic of Christmas before it’s too late?
Jim Broadbent and Patrick Barlow performed together for many years in Barlow’s cult comedy troupe The National Theatre of Brent. Broadbent has since found international fame in films such as Moulin Rouge (for which he won a BAFTA), Iris (Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) and the Harry Potter series. He previously worked with the director of A Christmas Carol, Phelim McDermott, on Theatre of Blood at the National Theatre.
Olivier Award-winning Phelim McDermott is Artistic Director of Improbable, one of Britain’s most inventive theatre companies, and is responsible for the iconic production Shockheaded Peter.
A Christmas Carol is designed by Tom Pye (The Testament of Mary, The Death of Klinghoffer, The Low Road) and has movement direction by Toby Sedgwick (War Horse, The 39 Steps), lighting by Peter Mumford and sound by Gareth Fry. Further casting will be announced shortly.
A Christmas Carol and The Mackintosh Foundation will support St Martin-in-the-Fields’ Christmas Appeal by donating 50p for each ticket purchased. As part of the purchasing process, customers will be asked if they would also like to donate 50p with each ticket purchased.
Anna Ziegler’s new play Photograph 51, starring Nicole Kidman and Stephen Campbell Moore, runs at the Noel Coward Theatre from September 5 to November 21, 2015.