A one-man theatrical performance of the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, performed by Mat Jones using the original text.
Mat Jones brings A Christmas Carol to Friargate Theatre on 11 and 12 December, a one-man performance of the Dickens classic. It's a solo show, so it's just Jones on stage taking on the whole story himself.
What sets this version apart is where it comes from. Rather than a modern rewrite, Jones uses the original text from the public readings Dickens himself started giving in 1853. Back then, the author would stand on stage with little more than a desk, a rug, and gas lighting, telling the story directly to the room. Jones works from that same source, keeping the focus on Dickens' own words and avoiding the contemporary adaptations that usually crop up around the Christmas season. It's a stripped-back approach that lets the original writing do the heavy lifting.
Jones has been performing this particular version for a decade now, so he's well-acquainted with the material. The story itself is one of the few that's stayed in print without a break since it first came out in 1843, and this production treats it as a piece of living theatre rather than a museum piece. If you've only ever known the story through film or stage versions with full casts, hearing it told by a single voice is a different way into it.
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It runs over two nights, 11 and 12 December, at Friargate Theatre in York. If you're looking for a Christmas tradition that sticks close to the original, this is a good place to start.
