Immersive dinner-theatre in which actor Alex Phelps plays Charles Dickens while guests dine on reimagined Victorian classics at restaurant-style tables.
The Great Christmas Feast returns to The Lost Estate in West Kensington from 6 November to 31 December, the immersive dinner-theatre show coming back for its ninth run. It's built around A Christmas Carol, staged inside what the production presents as Charles Dickens' own home, and it's as much about the meal as the performance.
The setup is simple: you sit at restaurant-style tables circling a small, raised central performance space. From there, Alex Phelps plays Dickens, carrying the story with modern asides that keep it from feeling like a dusty museum piece. Violinists and percussionists round out the sound, with music by Stefan Rees. The whole thing is immersive, so you're in the room with the action rather than watching it from a distance.
There's a bit of history behind the format, too. The show leans on Dickens' own life: stiffed by the weak Victorian copyright laws, he spent much of his later years giving spectacular one-man performances of his work, earning him a reputation as the Taylor Swift of his day. That's the tradition this production taps into.
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The feast is cooked by Executive Chef Ashley Clarke, who has worked with the Gordon Ramsay Group, Smokestak and Temper Soho. This year he's bringing a menu of reimagined Victorian classics, topped off with a rich Twelfth Night Cake served with Christmas pudding ice cream. So you're eating your way through the evening while the story unfolds around you.
Tickets are tiered: Classic Dining from £154.85, Charlie's Circle from £199.85 and Charlie's Circle 'royale' from £239.85. If you're looking for something a bit cheaper, preview tickets from 6 to 12 November start at £136. The Lost Estate is at 7-9 Beaumont Avenue, London W14 9LP.
