The festive period is here and there are so many shows that are available for audiences to go and watch! Over the next few weeks, we will be talking to lots of different shows and performers about what they have in store for this time of year! Today we find out all about the solo rendition of Charles Dickens at Barons Court Theatre between the dates of the 17th – 21st December. I spoke to Mitch Benn to find out all about it.

What is the show that you are bringing to the stage in this Festive season?

I am going to be performing a solo rendition of the Charles Dickens classic novella: A Christmas Carol. I’m using the abridged version of the book that DIckens himself cut down to use for live readings, but I’ll be presentying it as a dramatic monologue.

Tell us all about the character that you play?

Over the course of the show I play all 27 of the characters in the book, including Tiny Tim. 

Will there be a bit of festivity in your show?

A Christmas Carol is all about festivity and the Christmas spirit(s), even if the main character Ebenezer Scrooge takes some persuading to join in…

What are your favourite things about the festive season and why?

I’ve always loved Christmas; I loved it when I was a child and loved it even more when I got to be a parent. 

This time of year the venues tend to be a bit busier as well – do you find that the audience changes at all?

The audience for these shows is different from my normal audience, but that is because this is quite different to my usual shows. Most of the year I’m a stand-up comedian playing comedy clubs and those gigs can get a bit raucous at Christmas time, so I’m very happy to be doing a family friendly show. This is the show’s second year; last year we got amazing reviews and I am delighted to discover that although there have been innmuerable film and TV adaptations of the story and new stage versions produced every year, some of my audience members had never seen or heard the story before…

What advice would you give for people performing around the festive season?

Stay off the sherry.

What is the best thing about a night at your show for the audience?

An incredibly powerful and moving story, stripped right down to its most fundamental elements and (I hope) compellingly told.

If people want to find out more about you where can they follow you on social media?

I have my own website mitchbenn.com, I am on Twitter (not X, as I haven’t installed the updates), Bluesky, Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram and my music is on Bandcamp. 

And Finally in three words – Why should people come and see the show?

 It’s something special.