A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story
Mark Gatiss‘ acclaimed retelling of Dickens’ winter ghost story visits The Rep this Christmas, starring Matthew Cottle as Scrooge.
Irresistibly theatrical! Mark Gatiss’s fabulous take on Dickens.”
★★★★★ Daily Telegraph
It’s a cold Christmas Eve and mean-spirited miser Ebenezer Scrooge has an unexpected visit from the spirit of his former business partner Jacob Marley. Bound in chains as punishment for a lifetime of greed, the unearthly figure explains it isn’t too late for Scrooge to change his miserly ways in order to escape the same fate, but first he’ll have to face three more eerie encounters…
In the hands of Gatiss, Dickens’ festive tale banishes all thoughts of ‘bah, humbug’.”
★★★★ Evening Standard
Filled with Dickensian, spine-tingling special effects, prepare to be frightened and delighted in equal measure as you enter the supernatural Victorian world of A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story.
A spooky twist on the Dickens classic.”
★★★★ WhatsOnStage
Birmingham Rep presents
A Nottingham Playhouse Production in association with Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Eilene Davidson Productions
Based on the book by
Charles Dickens
Adapted by
Mark Gatiss
Directed by
Adam Penford
Price
From £20
Age guidance
12+.
Please note, no under 5s will be admitted to the auditorium.
Content Advice
Please note this production is highly sensory with flashing lights and jump-scares.
There are parts of the show that contain very loud music, ringing bells and sound effects.
The show also contains references to death and ghosts throughout.
Access performances
Audio Described: Sat 30 Nov at 2.30pm, Thu 19 Dec at 7pm and Sat 4 Jan at 2.30pm (described by Julia Grundy and Carolyn Smith)
A Free Touch Tour is available to book before the Audio Described performances.
BSL Interpreted: Fri 22 Nov at 1.30pm, Fri 22 Nov at 7pm, Thu 28 Nov at 10.15am, Sun 15 Dec at 2.30pm (interpreted by Claire Edwards)
Captioned: All performances are captioned. (captioned by Stef Bell)
Please note, captions are not visible from Rows A – C. There is a limited view of captions in Rows D – H.
Relaxed: Sun 1 Dec at 2.30pm and Fri 6 Dec at 7pm
Running time
2 hours 5 minutes including an interval
Special Offers
Aged 16 to 25 Discounted tickets are available for this production for registered 16-25 members. T&Cs apply – Find Out More
Fees and charges
Please note there is a transaction fee of £3.50 on all payment types.
Venue
Programmes
Save time by ordering your programme in advance for £6.
Production Shots
Photography by Ellie Kurttz.
Photography by Ellie Kurttz.
Photography by Ellie Kurttz.
Photography by Ellie Kurttz.
Photography by Ellie Kurttz.
Photography by Ellie Kurttz.
Cast
Matthew Cottle
Theatre credits include: Party Games! (Yvonne Arnaud Theare); Mrs Warren’s Profession (Theatre Royal Bath Productions); Woman in Mind (Chichester Festival Theatre); Habeas Corpus (Menier Chocolate Factory) ; The Windsors: Endgame (Prince of Wales Theatre); Deep Blue Sea (Chichester Festival Theatre); Rough Crossing (Bill Kenwright Ltd UK Tour); The Chalk Garden (Chichester Festival Theatre); Wonderland (Nottingham Playhouse); How the Other Half Loves (Theatre Royal Haymarket / Duke of York’s and Tour); Communicating Doors (Menier Chocolate Factory); Our Country’s Good (The Royal National Theatre); A Small Family Business (National Theatre); What the Women Did (Southwark Playhouse), Quartermaine’s Terms (Wyndham’s Theatre); A Chorus of Disapproval (Harold Pinter Theatre); Neighbourhood Watch (SJT / New York / Tour / Tricycle); Dear Uncle (SJT); Racing Demon (Sheffield Crucible); The Habit of Art (National Theatre); Taking Steps (The Orange Tree); Absurd Person Singular (Windsor Theatre Royal / Tour); Man of the Moment (The Royal Northampton); Private Fear in Public Places (The Royal Northampton); Just Between Ourselves (Northampton Theatres); Absurd Person Singular (No. 1 Tour); Run For Your Wife (The Mill at Sonning); Round and Round the Garden (Theatre Royal Windsor); Noises Off (Liverpool Playhouse); The Ghost Train (Ian Dickens Productions / Tour); An Evening with Gary Lineker (Ian Dickens Productions / Tour); Just Between Ourselves (Theatre Royal Windsor); Seasons Greetings (No. 1 Tour); Way Upstream (Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough); Bedroom Farce (Windsor and Eastbourne); Party Piece (No.1 Tour); Taking Steps (Sonning and Windsor); Seasons Greetings (Theatre Royal Windsor); Just Between Ourselves (No. 1 Tour); The Sunshine Boys (No. 1 Tour); The Dice House (Belgrade Theatre Coventry); Comic Potential (Lyric Theatre, West End); Rattle of a Simple Man (No. 1 Tour); Relatively Speaking (Belgrade Theatre Coventry); Peter Pan (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Macbeth (Liverpool Everyman); The Schoolmistress (Chichester Festival Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Octagon Theatre, Bolton); Billy Liar (Octagon Theatre, Bolton); The Snow Queen; Turkey Time (Stoke on Trent); Jolly Potters (New Victoria Theatre); Comedy of Errors; The Ballroom (Wimbledon Studios).
TV credits include: The Responder (Dancing Ledge Productions / BBC); Alice & Jack (Me & You Productions); Life After Life (House Productions / BBC); Pistol (Minim UK Productions); Bridgerton (Sunken Garden Productions); The Windsors (Noho / Channel 4); Outlander (Left Bank Pictures); Defending the Guilty (Channel 4); Endeavour (Mammoth Screen / ITV); Pure (Channel 4); Traitors (Twenty Twenty / Channel 4); Murder on the Blackpool Express (Tiger Aspect); Plebs (Rise Films); Citizen Khan (BBC); Unforgotten (Mainstreet / ITV); The Dresser (BBC – Carnival Films); Man Down (Avalon Television); Hoff the Record (Me & You Productions); Fried (BBC / Bwark); Citizen Khan (BBC); Doctors (BBC); The Job Lot (BigTalk Productions); Pramface (BBC); Citizen Khan (BBC); Man Down (Avalon Television); Doctors (BBC); Holby City (BBC); Doctors (BBC); Spooks (Kudos); Sex, The City and Me (BBC); EastEnders (BBC); Life Begins (ITV); The Commander (La Plante Productions); Doctors (BBC); Holby City (BBC); Down to Earth (BBC); The Infinite World of H.G. Wells (Hallmark); Comin’ Atcha (Initial); The Bill (Thames); Get Well Soon (BBC); A Perfect State (Cinema Verity); Karaoke (Whistling Gypsy Productions); An Independent Man (Carlton); Game On (Hat Trick); Drop the Dead Donkey (Hat Trick); Men of the World (Alomo); Harry Enfield and Chums (Tiger Aspect); Crimewatch File – Sentence of Fear (BBC); Casualty (BBC); Miss Marple – They Do It With Mirrors (BBC) and Taking The Floor (BBC).
Film credits include: By The Throat (Crooked Smile Films / SC Films); The Critic (BKStudios); Seize Them! (Seize Them Productions); The Personal History of David Copperfield (Copperfield Films Ltd); Blessed (Storm Pictures); Bright Young Things (Stephen Fry); Chaplin (Carolco); Christmas Carol (Hallmark).
Radio credits include: Rubbish (BBC Radio) and The Dogstar Chronicles.
James Backway
James originated the role of ‘Fred’ in A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story for Nottingham Playhouse and Alexandra Palace.
Training: Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts Theatre includes: Holes (Nottingham Playhouse), War Horse (National Theatre/West End), The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Sound of Music (London Palladium), Is There WiFi in Heaven? (National Theatre), Watership Down
(Watermill Theatre), Importance of Being Earnest (Theatr Clwyd), The Hollow, Jackie The Baboon, Rubbish (Brunskill & Grimes) TV/Film include: World on Fire, Call the Midwife, Eastenders (BBC), The King’s Man (MARV Films), Hanna (Amazon Prime), Humans (AMC/Channel 4), Passchendale 100 (BBC), What Happened To Evie (FFP), Little Sh*t (Post Panic).
Karendip Phull
Karendip is originally from Birmingham and started her career as part of the Birmingham REP 18-25 Company.
Theatre credits include: Anita & Me (Birmingham Rep); Santi & Naz (The Thelmas); Glory Dazed (Old Joint Stock Theatre) and Discovery (Kali Theatre).
TV credits include: Doctors (BBC) and Hijacked: Flight 73 (Sky).
Short Film credits include: The Pink Pill (BBC).
Lance West
Theatre credits include: Ensemble in Telethon (The Lowry); Swing in The Trails (Donmar Warehouse); Claudio/Elbow/Barnadine in Measure for Measure (Minack Theatre)
TV credits include: Nicu in Heirs of the Night (BBC); Ben Taylor in Beyond Paradise (BBC) and Bash Baker in Spellbound (Hulu).
Short film credits include: Brennan in Shoot your Shot (BFI) and Dandy Boy in Bobby Jaws.
Geoffrey Beevers
Theatre credits include: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (Nottingham Playhouse); The Audience (West End/Broadway); Amadeus; The UN Inspector; Playing with Fire; The Winter’s Tale (National); Maydays; Heresy of Love; Measure for Measure; A Servant to Two Masters; Pericles; Henry VIII; Mother Courage; The Devils (RSC); Hamlet; The Antipodes (Shakespeare’s Globe); Twelfth Night (ETT) A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Hull Truck) Dr Knock; Uncle Vanya; King Lear; The Skin Game; Leaving (Orange Tree)
Television credits include: Dr Who; Poirot; Casualty; Holby City; Inspector Morse; Silent Witness; Sherlock Holmes; Red Dwarf; Yes Prime Minister; Plebs; The Tudors; Goodnight Mr Tom; The Darling Buds of May; Pale Horse; Down to Earth; The Genius of Mozart; Bodyguards; Bad Education; A Very British Coup; The Jewel in the Crown.
Film credits include: Miss Potter; Legend; Clash of the Titans; The Edge of Love; Curse of the Pink Panther; Victor/Victoria.
Kalifa Taylor
Theatre credits include: Look Who’s All Grown Up (The Space Theatre); Selected Recordings of Us (The Space Theatre); Money Heist: The Experience (Fever); Tomb King (The League of Adventure); The Gunpowder Plot Immersive Experience (Historic Royal Palaces and Layered Reality); Hamlet (Southwark Playhouse); War Inside (Vaults Festival); Laura and Sophia (The Lion and Unicorn); Feel More X Lately (The Lion and Unicorn); 1000 Ways the World Will End (& How It Starts Again) (The King’s Head); Noises Off! (The Theatre Royal Haymarket); All’s Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare in the Squares).
Oscar Batterham
Training: The Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Theatre credits include: The Other Boleyn Girl (Chichester Festival Theatre); Noises Off! (West End); The Egyptians (Gulbenkian); Richard III; All’s Well That Ends Well (RSC) Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (West End); The Suppliant Women (Young Vic/ UK tour); 1984, The Whale; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The One That Got Away (Theatre Royal Bath); Skylight (Theatr Clwyd); Stella (Brighton Theatre Royal/LIFT); The Wars of the Roses (Rose Theatre, Kingston).
Television credits include: The Saints (eOne); The Death of Bunny Munro (Sky/Clerkenwell Films); Truelove (Channel 4); A Spy Among Friends (ITV); Obsession (Moonpage Pictures/Netflix).
Grace Hogg-Robinson
Theatre credits include: The Ocean at the End of the Lane (West End); The Snail House (The Hampstead Theatre); Sitting by Katherine Parkinson (BBC Arts, Edinburgh Fringe); Broken Biscuits (Paines Plough/Live Theatre); Jekyll and Hyde (Rose Theatre/Touring Consortium).
TV credits include: Cobra (Sky/New Pictures); The Coroner (BBC); Flesh & Blood (ITV), Flatmates (BBC/Zodiak); Vera (ITV/Silverprint Pictures); The First Team (BBC); Pls Like (BBC); Mum (BBC); Defending the Guilty (BBC); There She Goes (BBC); Troy: Fall of a City (Netflix); The Durrells (ITV); Camping (Sky); Bangmouth Village (Baby Cow/Big Red Button); Silent Witness (BBC); Casualty (BBC); Doctors (BBC); Suspects (Channel 5/Newman Street Productions); Diary of a Snob (Nickelodeon).
Film credits include: An American in Austen (Hallmark/UFO Films); Days of the Bagnold Summer (Stigma Films); Edge of Tomorrow (Warner Bros); Two For Joy (Blonde to Black Pictures).
Short Film credits include: Borne (NFTS/Amazon); Chalk (UAL), The Nest (Beyond Fiction); Candyfloss (Haus Pictures); Annex (We Are Cowboys); Birdhouse (NFTS).
Grace also runs @she_hoggs_thepaint , a small illustration company producing cards and prints.
Mark Theodore
Theatre credits include: Prospero in The Tempest (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre/Unicorn Theatre); Hagrid in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace Theatre); Aya in The Husbands (Soho Theatre); Metellus Cimber in Julius Caesar (RSC); Captain von der Golz in The Prince of Homburg (Donmar Warehouse); Solyony in Three Sisters (Lyric Hammersmith); Antonio/Sea Captain in Twelfth Night (York Theatre Royal); Brookes in Days of Significance (RSC/Tricycle Theatre); Mark in God in Ruins (RSC/Soho Theatre); Soldier in Macbett (RSC); Seyton in Macbeth (RSC); Brookes in Days of Significance (RSC); Sicillian Lord in The Winter’s Tale (RSC); Leonine in Pericles (RSC); Gbatokai in Festen (Almeida); Coach in 93.2 FM (Royal Court Theatre); George Murchison / Bobo in A Raisin in the Sun (Young Vic); Boxer in Animal Farm (Northern Stage); Marvin in The Kindness of Strangers (Liverpool Everyman); Jason in Dirty Butterfly (Soho Theatre); Trevor in Wrong Place (Soho Theatre); Claudio/Escalus in Measure for Measure (National Theatre); Peter in A Bitter Herb (Bristol Old Vic); Prisoner/Mission Preacher in Edmund (Northern Stage); Bill in The Collection (Northern Stage) and Smokey in Rumble Fish (Pilot Theatre Company).
TV credits include: Derick in The Dumping Ground (BBC); Second Policeman in Obsessed (Films for Discovery); Don Morrison in Friday Night Dinner (Big Talk Productions/Channel 4); Desk Sergeant in Hotel Babylon (BBC); Rufus in Eastenders (BBC); Andrew Hope in The Bill (ITV); Paul in Doctors (BBC); Casualty (BBC); Leroy in The Bill (Thames) and PC Groves in Queer as Folk (Red Productions/Channel 4).
Film credits include: Sonny Liston in Legend (Working Title Films); Security Guard in Grimsby (Sony) and Journalist in Ali G in Da House (Working Title Films).
Short film credits include: The Hitman in Jamaica (Prussia Lane Productions) and Andy in The Nod (Bart Productions).
Rebecca Trehearn
Theatre credits include: Becoming Nancy (Birmingham Rep); A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (Nottingham Playhouse/Alexandra Palace); Cinderella (Gillian Lynne Theatre); City of Angels (Garrick Theatre/Donmar Warehouse); A Christmas Carol (Old Vic); Kiss Me Kate (Watermill, Newbury); Rags (Hope Mill theatre); Sweet Charity (Nottingham Playhouse); Les Misérables (Pimlico Opera); Diary of a Teenage Girl (Southwark Playhouse); The Night Before Christmas/A Little of What You Fancy (Salisbury Playhouse); Floyd Collins (Wilton’s Music Hall); Showboat (Sheffield Crucible/Gillian Lynne Theatre); Dogfight (Southwark Playhouse); Ghost (UK National Tour); Bernarda Alba (Union Theatre); Love Story (Duchess); Aspects of Love (Menier Chocolate Factory); Dirty Dancing (Aldwych); We Will Rock You (Dominion); Alfie the Musical (Palace Theatre, Watford).
Television and Film credits include: Pobol Y Cwm (BBC Wales); The Nan Movie (Great Point Media); Dim Ond Y Gwir (S4C); Casualty (BBC); A470 (S4C).
Awards include: UK Theatre Award, Best Performance in a Musical for Sweet Charity; Olivier Award, Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Showboat.
Ryan Weston
Training: Itailia Conti
Theatre credits include Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (Nottingham Playhouse/Alexandra Palace).
Short Film credits include Hilary in Gabby Ellison.
Other credits: Ryan has written and performed his own stand-up comedy routine and directed the dark comedy play ‘Sorry For Your Loss’ by Marcia Nolte which was performed at the King’s Head Theatre in 2023.
Olivia-Faith Kamau
Theatre credits include: Ensemble in RENT! (Landmark Theatres); Enseble/Cover Betty Schaefer in Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Blvd. (Savoy Theatre); Gabrielle in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Hope Mill Theatre) and Dyanne in Million Dollar Quartet (The Barn Theatre).
Iverson Yabut
Iverson is thrilled to be making his debut at Birmingham REP, and hopes you enjoy the show.
Training: Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Theatre credits include: Chariots Of Fire (Sheffield Theatres); Pacific Overtures (Menier Chocolate Factory); Miss Saigon (Sheffield Theatres); Allegiance (Charing Cross Theatre); The Pirate Queen (London Coliseum); The Best of the West End (Royal Albert Hall).
Other credits include: ICON- The K-Pop Musical (Workshop – Carter Dixon Mcgill Productions).
Edwin Cratchit
Takunda Khumalo
Takunda Khumalo
Grace Cratchit
Sophie John
Sophie John
Edwin Cratchit
River Mahjouri
River Mahjouri
Grace Cratchit
Corrina Onyiukah
Corrina Onyiukah
Edwin Cratchit
Logan Meers
Logan Meers
Grace Cratchit
Orla Rae Wilson
Orla Rae Wilson
Creatives
Book by
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss has had a long and varied career as a Writer, Director, and Producer, as well as an Actor and published author. Mark is best known as a member of The League of Gentlemen and as the Co-Creator and Executive Producer of the multi award-winning BBC series Sherlock, in which he played Mycroft Holmes.
Mark both wrote for and appeared in the modern revival of Doctor Who and was the Writer and Executive Producer of An Adventure in Space and Time for its 50th anniversary celebrations. Mark also co-created the BBC and Netflix drama Dracula, and has written and directed several BBC ghost stories including The Mezzotint, Martin’s Close, The Dead Room, and The Tractate Middoth. Other writing credits for television include The Amazing Mr Blunden, Crooked House, The Worst Journey in the World, Poirot, and his adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The First Men in the Moon. Mark wrote and presented the documentary series A History of Horror and its sequel Horror Europa, as well as art documentaries on John Minton and Aubrey Beardsley. Mark curated and directed Queers, a series of eight monologues for BBC Four to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.
As an actor, Mark’s recent film credits include Mission Impossible 7, Operation Mincemeat, The Father, The Favourite, Christopher Robin, Gunpowder, Wolf Hall, Coalition and Game of Thrones. On stage, his credits include Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse), The Boys in the Band (Park/ Vaudeville), Three Days in the Country (NT – Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role), the title role in The Madness of George III (Nottingham Playhouse), and Jacob Marley in his own adaptation of A Christmas Carol (Nottingham Playhouse/ Alexandra Palace). Mark has recently directed Steven Moffat’s debut play The Unfriend for Chichester, which in 2023 will transfer to the Criterion in the West End.
Director
Adam Penford
Adam Penford
Set & Costume Designer
Paul Wills
Paul Wills
Lighting Designer
Philip Gladwell
Philip Gladwell
Sound Designer
Ella Wahlström
Ella Wahlström
Video Designer
Nina Dunn
Nina Dunn
Movement Director
Georgina Lamb
Georgina Lamb
Composer
Tingying Dong
Tingying Dong
Illusions Designer
John Bulleid
John Bulleid
Casting Director
Ginny Schiller
Ginny Schiller
Ginny Schiller is the casting director for Private Peaceful.
Puppet Designer and Director
Matthew Forbes
Matthew Forbes
Musical Director
Tom Attwood
Tom Attwood
Voice & Dialect Coach
Kay Welch
Kay Welch
Associate Director
Emily Oulton
Emily Oulton
Associate Set Designer
Laura O'Connell
Laura O'Connell
Associate Lighting Designer
Jason Addison
Jason Addison
Associate Sound Designer
Tom Shipman
Tom Shipman
Associate Video Designer
Hannah Schlenker
Hannah Schlenker
Production Manager