A Christmas Carol Tickets in London at The Old Vic
A Christmas Carol is back at The Old Vic from 10 November 2026 to 9 January 2027, with Giles Terera as Scrooge. It's Jack Thorne's version of the Dickens story, directed by Matthew Warchus, and it's been the Old Vic's Christmas show every year since 2017, full of carols, handbells and mince pies. It's a Christmas tradition like no other.
About 2 hours, with an intervalAges 8 and up
A play at The Old Vic, 2 minutes' walk from WaterlooCloses 9 January 2027
Real people on the phone
020 7193 9050 · Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 8pm
Help choosing your seat
Dates are being updated
We're refreshing this show's booking dates. Tickets are still on sale: use the calendar or the booking button for the latest performances.
Who's A Christmas Carol For?
It's the Christmas show we'd send almost anyone to, from a six-year-old on their first trip to the theatre to their grandparents. The Old Vic's guidance is 8 and up, but it works from about six, and from ten it's perfect. It's just as good for a night out with adults only, and at about two hours it's over by nine.
It's not the one if you want a frightening ghost story. There are ghosts, but it's warm and festive rather than scary, and some critics over the years have wished it were darker.
What Tickets Cost
Tickets start from around £40, most seats are around £65 to £105, and premium seats start from around £120. The premium seats are mostly in the Stalls, close to the stage.
The previews, from 10 to 23 November, and the performances from 1 to 9 January are the cheaper dates. The weeks running up to Christmas are the busiest, so book early for December, and earliest of all for a weekend.
It's one of our biggest sellers every Christmas. For a group, call us and we'll look for seats together.
About A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic
This is Charles Dickens's story adapted by Jack Thorne, who also wrote Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and directed by Matthew Warchus. It first played here in 2017 and has come back every Christmas since, each year with a new Scrooge. It went to Broadway in 2019, where Rob Howell won two Tony Awards for the set and costumes.
It's a play with music rather than a musical. Carols and handbells run all the way through it, arranged by the composer Christopher Nightingale.
Since last year it's been In The Round. The stage is the floor in the middle of the theatre, with seats on every side, and the actors come and go through the Stalls aisles, so a lot of the show happens right next to the audience.
It runs about 2 hours, including a 20-minute interval, and it's suggested for ages 8 and up. There's smoke, haze, lighting effects and loud noises, and the ghosts can be frightening for younger children.
What's A Christmas Carol About?
It's Christmas Eve in Victorian London. Ebenezer Scrooge is rich, mean and alone, and he wants nothing to do with Christmas, his nephew Fred or his clerk, Bob Cratchit, who he barely pays.
That night the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley, comes to warn him, and three more spirits follow. The first takes him back to his childhood, his sister Fan, the parties at Mr Fezziwig's and Belle, the woman he loved. The second shows him Christmas at the Cratchits' house, where the youngest son, Tiny Tim, is ill. The last shows him where his life is heading.
It ends as Dickens's story does, on Christmas morning, with Scrooge a different man.
Performance Schedule
A Christmas Carol plays Monday to Saturday evenings at 7pm, with matinees at 2pm on different days each week, so check the date you want. During the previews, from 10 to 23 November, the evening shows start at 7:30pm, and the only matinee is Saturday 21 November at 2:30pm.
From Wednesday 25 November:
| Day | Matinee | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 2pm on 21 December | 7pm |
| Tuesday | 2pm on 8, 15 and 29 December and 5 January | 7pm |
| Wednesday | 2pm on 2, 23 and 30 December and 6 January | 7pm |
| Thursday | 2pm on 26 November and 10 and 17 December, 1pm on 24 December | 7pm |
| Friday | - | 7pm |
| Saturday | 2pm on 28 November, 12 and 19 December and 2 and 9 January | 7pm |
| Sunday | 2pm on 27 December | 7pm on 27 December |
There's no performance on Tuesday 24 November, Friday 4 December, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Eve. Christmas Eve is a 1pm show only, and Wednesday 6 January has a matinee but no evening show. Sunday 27 December is the only Sunday performance of the run, and it has two. The last performance is Saturday 9 January 2027 at 7pm.
Best Seats for A Christmas Carol
This is a show that comes to you: the cast use the aisles and play right out to the nearest rows, so the closer you sit, the more of it you get. That's why we'd book the Stage Stalls first and the Stalls second, as near the front as your budget allows.
The Stage Stalls sit where the stage would normally be, a steep bank of seats looking across the circle at the main Stalls. In the main Stalls the front row is level with the actors, and rows C and F are better picks than D and G, which are flat.
From the Boxes and the Dress Circle side seats you look right down into the action, almost as if you're perched over the stage, which makes them a lively place to watch from.
The Baylis Circle, at the top, is the cheapest level, and the middle of row F sees much the same as the rows in front for less. Skip rows P and Q of the Stage Dress Circle, behind the Stage Stalls, where there's very little legroom and rails in the way.
The seating plan is covered level by level in the Tickets and Best Seats tab.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we'll tell you what's left on your date.
Cast and Creative Team
Giles Terera, who won an Olivier Award for Hamilton, plays Ebenezer Scrooge.
Jack North plays Bob Cratchit, Carly Bawden is Belle and Ewan Black is Fred, and four children share the part of Tiny Tim.
The full company, the creative team and every Scrooge since 2017 are in the Cast and Creatives tab.
Book Your A Christmas Carol Tickets
A Christmas Carol is at The Old Vic from 10 November 2026 to 9 January 2027, and December goes first. Book with us and it's all-in pricing, so the price you see is what you pay. For help choosing a date, or a seat In The Round, give us a call.
Find tickets • Call us on 020 7193 9050
Dates & tickets
FAQs
From around £40, with most seats around £65 to £105 and premium from around £120, all-in. The previews and the January performances are the cheaper dates. Call us on 020 7193 9050 for prices on your date.
Giles Terera, the Olivier Award winner from Hamilton. He takes over from Paul Hilton, who played Scrooge in 2025. The Old Vic casts a new Scrooge every year.
The running time is about 2 hours, including a 20-minute interval. A 7pm show finishes at around 9pm and a 2pm matinee at around 4pm. In previews, the 7:30pm shows finish at around 9:30pm.
The guidance is 8 and up, and we'd say it works from about six and is perfect from ten. Under-3s aren't admitted, under-16s need to be with an adult, and everyone needs a ticket.
Go for the Stage Stalls first and the Stalls second, and get as near the front as your budget allows. For a view from above, try a Box or the side of the Dress Circle. The full guide is in the Tickets and Best Seats tab, or call us on 020 7193 9050.
30 to 40 minutes before the start. Things are already happening in the auditorium before the show begins, and it's part of the fun. There are bag checks at every entrance, too.
Latecomers are let in at a suitable break, which isn't guaranteed, and the interval is the one point you can count on. Arrive late and you'll miss the pre-show as well as the start of the story.
Yes, apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve. Christmas Eve is a 1pm matinee only, there are two shows on Sunday 27 December, and New Year's Day has a 7pm show.
Rhys Ifans in 2017, Stephen Tompkinson, Paterson Joseph, Andrew Lincoln, Stephen Mangan, Owen Teale, Christopher Eccleston, John Simm and Paul Hilton in 2025. Giles Terera plays him in 2026.
Not quite. It's a play with music, with carols and handbells all the way through, but the story is told in scenes rather than songs.
There isn't one, so wear whatever's comfortable.
It's reviewed afresh most years, and the critics usually give it four stars, with fives most seasons. The 2026 reviews will follow press night. Past years are in What the Critics Say.
Yes, four. They're booked through The Old Vic's own access team, not through us.
- 12 December, 2pm: relaxed, audio described, captioned and BSL interpreted all at once (touch tour 11:45am)
- 14 December, 7pm: captioned
- 4 January, 7pm: audio described (touch tour 5pm)
- 5 January, 7pm: BSL interpreted
Tickets and Best Seats for A Christmas Carol
Prices are lower in previews and in January. The whole theatre is In The Round, with the stage on the floor in the middle of the Stalls.
Stage Stalls
This is where we'd sit. It's a raised block built on the theatre's old stage, looking across the acting area at the main Stalls, and the rows nearest the stage put you right next to the action. It's one block with no aisle down the middle, and the slope is good.
There are pillars in rows M and N, so a few seats there have one in front of them, and row N is tight on legroom. Further back, in rows L to N, you're a long way from the stage for a top-price seat.
Stalls
The main Stalls rise from stage level almost to the height of the Dress Circle, and the actors use the aisles here to come and go, so the action comes right past you. The front row is level with the stage, with nothing in front of you.
Take row C or F rather than D or G, which are flat, so you're looking past the head in front. From row H back the rows rise on steps, and the middle of rows J to L is the best spot further back.
Either side are four short rows in the space where the old Boxes were. They're close to the stage, but the floor barely rises, so the view depends on who sits in front. The Stalls also have the most legroom in the theatre.
Dress Circle and Boxes
Sit at the side of the Dress Circle or in a Box and you're right above the action, close enough to feel part of it, and it's a fun way to watch. One of the side rows is tall seats with a footrest, which suits you if you don't mind sitting up high, and the front side row is short on legroom.
The Box seats at the front are cramped for anyone over about 5ft 6, and the bench behind them looks steeply down onto the stage.
In the middle of the Dress Circle, row A looks over the top of the main Stalls, which helps if you're shorter. Legroom here is tighter than in the Stalls, and row E has a rail in the view.
Stage Dress Circle
Rows P, Q and R sit on a raised structure behind the Stage Stalls, 21 to 30 steps up. Avoid P and Q: there's very little legroom, safety rails get in the way and the look down is steep. Row R is a bench at bar height, fine if you're happy to perch.
Baylis Circle
The Baylis Circle is the top level, 49 steps up, and the cheapest. The middle of row F sees much the same as the rows in front for less, and row G is cheaper again. Row A and the ends of row B lose part of the stage where the edge of the circle cuts in.
Along both sides are benches with no backs, sold as severely restricted, though they do see down onto the stage.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we'll find the best seats left on your date.
Seating plan
Dates & tickets
Booking now
Getting to The Old Vic
The Old Vic is on The Cut, London SE1 8NB, on the corner of Waterloo Road.
Waterloo is the nearest station, on the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines, and it's about 2 minutes' walk from the right exit. Take Exit 2 for Waterloo Road, turn right, and the theatre is straight ahead. From a main-line train, use the exit opposite platforms 5 and 6 and go down the escalators. The exits on the South Bank side add 10 minutes or more.
Southwark, on the Jubilee line, and Waterloo East are both about 5 minutes away.
The 1, 68, 172, 176, 188 and C10 buses stop outside on Waterloo Road, about 40 metres from the door, and the 59 and 76 stop on Baylis Road, about 110 metres away.
If you're driving, the Congestion Charge doesn't apply between Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
For this show, arrive 30 to 40 minutes before, for the pre-show. Bags are checked at every entrance, and anything bigger than a rucksack isn't allowed in.
The toilets queue at the interval, so the ones by the basement bar are the quickest.
In The Round, the theatre has almost 900 seats. The stage is in the middle of the Stalls, with the Dress Circle and the Baylis Circle above. Step-free access is to the Stalls only, through the Waterloo Road entrance. The Dress Circle is 29 steps up and the Baylis Circle 49.
Everything else, including access, is in our Old Vic guide.
Address
The Cut, London SE1 8NB
Nearest Tube
Waterloo (2 min walk)
A Christmas Carol Cast
The company, as published on 30 September 2026:
- Giles Terera as Ebenezer Scrooge
- Carly Bawden as Belle
- Ewan Black as Fred
- Khalid Daley as Young Ebenezer
- Geraint Downing as Ferdy and George
- Edward Harrison as Father and Marley
- Kirsty MacLaren as Little Fan
- Aiesha Naomi as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Mrs Fezziwig
- Jack North as Bob Cratchit
- Claire O'Leary as Jess
- Alastair Parker as Fezziwig
- Nuwan Hugh Perera as Nicholas and the Schoolmaster
- Gleanne Purcell-Brown as Mrs Cratchit
- Annie Wensak as the Ghost of Christmas Past
- Tiny Tim, shared by Imuujin Bayarsaikhan, Freddie Merritt, Veronica Aeryn Onu and Hannah Slater
- Swings: Hollie Jane Stephens, also Dance Captain, and Sam Stones
Giles Terera won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Hamilton, and he's been at The Old Vic before, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Claire O'Leary, Alastair Parker, Nuwan Hugh Perera and Annie Wensak were all in last year's company too.
Scrooges at The Old Vic
Rhys Ifans played the first Scrooge here in 2017, followed by Stephen Tompkinson in 2018, Paterson Joseph in 2019 and Andrew Lincoln in 2020, when the show was streamed live from the empty theatre. Stephen Mangan took over in 2021, then Owen Teale in 2022, Christopher Eccleston in 2023, John Simm in 2024 and Paul Hilton in 2025. Giles Terera is the 2026 Scrooge.
Creative team
Adapted by Jack Thorne from the novel by Charles Dickens, and directed by Matthew Warchus. Set and costumes by Rob Howell, music composed and arranged by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and movement by Lizzi Gee. Jamie Manton is associate director, and casting is by Grindrod Burton Casting.
Rob Howell won two Tony Awards, for Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design, when the production went to Broadway in 2019. This is Matthew Warchus's final season as Artistic Director of The Old Vic.
A Christmas Carol Reviews
The critics come back to A Christmas Carol most years, because each year has a new Scrooge. The 2026 reviews, of Giles Terera's Scrooge, will follow press night. Until then, here's how the critics saw past seasons, and the praise for each Scrooge belongs to that year's actor.
In 2025, the first year In The Round, with Paul Hilton as Scrooge, the Times, the Standard and the Arts Desk all gave it four stars, and City AM and BroadwayWorld gave five. The Times called Hilton "one of its best Scrooges", and the Standard found "the whole cast is luminous".
In 2024, with John Simm, the Times gave five stars and said "John Simm is tremendous", while the Telegraph, at three, felt the show's "customary stabbing potency doesn't hit home soon enough". In 2023, Christopher Eccleston's year, the i and the Daily Mail gave five, and the Telegraph four, though it thought the show was "starting to creak".
Back in 2017, Michael Billington gave the first production four stars in the Guardian and called it "Dickens done with love and affection". What critics have praised year after year is the music and the warmth. The one reservation that keeps coming back is that it's not dark enough. The full round-up, year by year, is in What the Critics Say.
Gallery
A Christmas Carol | Old Vic
The Old Vic
