Back in London for a third Christmas season, A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story is now playing at Alexandra Palace Theatre until 4 January 2026. This is one of the key GSCE English Literature texts so I booked tickets for us to go (a bit of revision during the Christmas holidays!).

A Christmas Carol A Ghost Story

Marley was dead: to begin with.

It’s Christmas Eve, and the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge receives a chilling visit from the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley. Bound in chains for a lifetime of greed, Marley warns Scrooge it isn’t too late to change his fate, but only if he survives three more ghostly encounters…

This Christmas, the haunting returns. Following a critically acclaimed 2023 run, Mark Gatiss’ spine-chilling retelling of Dickens’ winter ghost story once again takes over Alexandra Palace Theatre in 2025. Neil Morrissey, beloved for Men Behaving Badly and Waterloo Road, will appear as Jacob Marley, and Matthew Cottle (The Windsors and Game On), reprises his role as Scrooge.

Frozen in time with its beautifully preserved features, the atmospheric Alexandra Palace Theatre is the perfect setting for Dickens’ most enduring Christmas tale. With eerie Victorian special effects and spine-tingling storytelling, prepare to be frightened and delighted in equal measure as you enter the supernatural world of A Christmas Carol.

We thought Alexandra Palace Theatre was the perfect setting for this Victorian ghost story. The story is well known but we loved this re-telling, with a narrator. There were some special touches, such as the ghost puppets which were walked through the theatre, the dog puppet, and the ghostly puppet Victorian children. We would have liked more of these special effects though. The ghost story didn’t feel very ghostly, although it was family friendly considering it is suitable for ages 12 and over. Altogether a lovely festive outing for the whole family.

Age recommendation 12+
Running time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes (incl. interval)