Details

The bells ring an Old Year out and a New One in, as Toby Veck sees his life changed by oppression and drudgery. Companion to A Christmas Carol, this is a seasonal story full of magic and pathos, which points up society's attitude towards the poor and homeless. Semi-staged rehearsed reading. Adapted from the story by Charles Dickens. Christmas and New Year is a time to settle old accounts and look forward with hope to the future. Not so for Toby Veck. Unable to settle his own meagre debts, browbeaten by the hypocrisy of rich philanthropists and worried for his family's uncertain future, he begins to doubt the good in poor people and their place in the world. His cry of despair echoes up to the church tower from which the spirits and goblins of the bells have always watched over him and his family. They must now teach him a lesson; that he might learn how bad the bad are born.

Creatives/Company

Author: Charles Dickens
Adapted by(s): David Willis, Nicolas Bloomfield