A Christmas Carol (Nicol) - One Act
Ron Nicol
Genre: Drama
Cast size: 21
Duration: One Act
By Ron Nicol | One Act | Drama | 11m, 9f, 1m/f
Short synopsis
- Synopsis
- Characters
The Charles Dickens Novel adapted for the stage by Ron Nicol
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is visited in his counting house by his nephew Fred, but refuses to acknowledge that Christmas is a time for celebration, and declines Fred’s invitation to dinner. He refuses to contribute anything to a charity collector, and demands that his clerk Bob Cratchit should work on Christmas Day. That night he’s visited by the ghost of his dead partner Jacob Marley. Marley tells Scrooge he has a chance of reclamation if he forsakes his miserly life, and warns him that he’ll be visited by three Spirits.
The Spirit of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to his childhood, showing him being collected from his school by his sister Fan, celebrating Christmas as a young apprentice with the Fezziwig family, and being rejected by his fiancée Belle because of his love of money.
The Spirit of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to a Christmas market and on to Bob Cratchit’s house, where Mrs Cratchit and her three children are preparing for Christmas dinner. Bob arrives with crippled son Tiny Tim, and the family eat together. The Spirit next takes Scrooge to his nephew Fred’s house, where Caroline’s complaints about Scrooge are rebutted by Fred. Two children who represent Ignorance and Want appear, and leave with the Spirit.
The Spirit of Christmas Future shows Scrooge several businessmen reflecting on Scrooge’s death, and a group of scavengers and thieves receiving payment from a pawnbroker. The next visit is to the Cratchit family, who are reflecting on the death of Tiny Tim. The Spirit finally takes Scrooge to a graveyard, where the grave being dug is Scrooge’s own.
Scrooge awake to find it’s Christmas Day. He gives a passing child money to buy a turkey for Bob Cratchit, meets Fred and says he’ll come to dinner, and tells Bob that he’ll increase his salary. Cratchit informs the audience that Scrooge’s reclamation and change of nature continued in the future.
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