A Christmas Carol
Dickens's ghost story for Christmas, with real Dickens quotations and a GCSE head start.
Dickens called it a "Ghost Story of Christmas", and this adaptation keeps the chills, the warmth and the best lines while making them quick and stageable for Years 5 and 6. Six Narrators carry the story, often in Dickens's own sentences, so the audience hears the music of his language. A Christmas Carol is one of the most widely studied GCSE English Literature set texts, so performing it in Year 6 gives children a real head start.
Print-ready PDF (45 pages) · Instant download from The Teacher Vault store on Gumroad
Synopsis
Prologue – Marley Was Dead
On a foggy London Christmas Eve, the Carollers sing God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. The Narrators tell us that Jacob Marley has been dead for seven years, and introduce his partner, the miser Ebenezer Scrooge.
Scene 1 (Stave One) – The Counting-House
Bob Cratchit shivers by a fire of one coal. Scrooge's cheerful nephew Fred invites him to Christmas dinner and gets "Bah! Humbug!" in reply. Two gentlemen collecting for the poor are told to try the prisons and the workhouses.
Scene 2 (Stave One) – Marley's Ghost
Scrooge sees Marley's face in his door knocker. Then Marley's Ghost appears, wrapped in the chain he "forged in life", and warns that Three Spirits will come.
Scene 3 (Stave Two) – The Ghost of Christmas Past
Scrooge sees his lonely boyhood, his sister Fan, Mr Fezziwig's joyful ball, and Belle, who leaves him because "another idol", money, has replaced her.
Scene 4 (Stave Three) – The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Cratchits make the most of a small goose and a proud pudding, and Tiny Tim says "God bless us every one!" At Fred's party the guests play a game about "Uncle Scrooge", and the Spirit reveals Ignorance and Want.
Scene 5 (Stave Four) – The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
A silent, hooded Phantom shows Scrooge a "very cheap funeral", the Cratchits grieving beside an empty chair, and a neglected grave with his own name on it. "I am not the man I was."
Scene 6 (Stave Five) – Christmas Morning
Scrooge wakes laughing. He sends the prize turkey to the Cratchits, joins Fred for dinner and raises Bob's salary, and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he becomes a second father. The bells ring out for the finale.
What's Included
- Teacher's introduction and how to use the pack
- Synopsis
- Themes, curriculum links, discussion questions and follow-up activities
- Character backstories
- Cast list & casting guide with line counts
- The full script (prologue and 6 scenes) with Dickens's own words in bold
- Dickens's words: a key quotations page, stave by stave
- Song lyric sheets
- Costume ideas
- Props, staging & sound effects
- Rehearsal planner
The Songs
- God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (traditional carol)
- Fezziwig's Ball (tune: Deck the Hall)
- Come In and Know Me Better (tune: Good King Wenceslas)
- Here Comes the Pudding (tune: Here We Come A-wassailing)
- The Empty Chair (tune: The Coventry Carol)
- Ring Out on Christmas Day (tune: Ding Dong! Merrily on High)
Prologue and 6 scenes · follows Dickens's five staves. A faithful, accessible adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella, written in British English. It follows Dickens's five staves in order, and over 30 short quotations are Dickens's own words, shown in bold and placed in the stave where they appear in the novel. Song 1 is the traditional carol; the others are new words to well-known carol tunes.
Themes & Curriculum Links
English
Reading books from our literary heritage; inference about characters' motives; figurative language ("solitary as an oyster"); performing play scripts. A real head start for GCSE English Literature.
PSHE & Citizenship
Community, charities and how our choices affect others; loneliness and regret; kindness, generosity, forgiveness and the idea that people can change.
History
Victorian Britain: poverty, child labour, workhouses and the Poor Law, and how Christmas traditions grew in the 1840s.
Music
Singing traditional carols and new words to traditional melodies, in unison and in parts, and learning about the history of the carol.
Characters
- Ebenezer Scrooge – A cold, lonely miser who goes from "Bah! Humbug!" to "as light as a feather" in one night. The lead – can be shared between three performers by stave.
- Bob Cratchit – Scrooge's kind, poorly paid clerk, who even raises a toast to Scrooge on Christmas Day.
- Fred – Scrooge's warm, generous nephew, who refuses to give up on his uncle.
- Jacob Marley's Ghost – Scrooge's dead partner, dragging the chain he forged in life.
- The Three Spirits – The gentle Ghost of Christmas Past, the jolly giant Ghost of Christmas Present and the silent, pointing Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
- The Cratchits – Mrs Cratchit, Martha, Belinda, Peter and Tiny Tim – a poor but loving family.
- Young Ebenezer, Fan, the Fezziwigs, Dick & Belle – Scrooge's past: easily doubled, as they appear in one scene only.
- Narrators 1–6, plus Gentlemen, Businessmen, Ignorance & Want, the Turkey Boy and Carollers – Storytellers, small roles and a chorus of any size.
The casting guide shows how to cast the play for 20, 25 or 30–32+ children, with line and word counts for every role. Stave Two characters appear in one scene only, so doubling is easy, and Carollers and party guests can be any number.
Script Sample: The Opening Scene
Here's how the play begins, so you can get a feel for the length of the lines and the humour.
A London street on Christmas Eve, 1843. Fog. A lamp-post. The CAROLLERS stand in a group with lanterns.
NARRATOR 1Marley was dead: to begin with.
NARRATOR 2Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
NARRATOR 5Secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
Scrooge's counting-house. Bitterly cold. FRED bursts in, rosy-cheeked and smiling.
FREDA merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!
SCROOGEBah! Humbug!
FREDChristmas a humbug, uncle! You don't mean that, I am sure?
SCROOGEI do. Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough.
FREDCome, then. What right have you to be dismal? You're rich enough.
Sample from Scene 1. The full script, songs and teacher notes are in the pack.
Common Questions
How many children can take part?
The casting guide shows how to cast the play for 20, 25 or 30–32+ children, with line and word counts for every role. Stave Two characters appear in one scene only, so doubling is easy, and Carollers and party guests can be any number.
Do we need sheet music or backing tracks?
No. Every song is set to a well-known traditional tune or a simple chant, so a confident adult voice, a piano or a guitar is all you need. Photocopiable lyric sheets are included.
What format is the pack?
A print-ready PDF (45 pages), delivered instantly by Gumroad after purchase. Print as many copies as your school needs.
Does it help with GCSE?
Yes. A Christmas Carol is one of the most widely studied GCSE English Literature set texts. Over 30 genuine Dickens quotations appear in bold in the correct staves, and a key quotations page explains what they show. For older siblings, our free A Christmas Carol revision notes cover plot, characters, themes and context.
Is this play in the £29.99 bundle?
No. The bundle covers our five original plays. Traditional plays are sold separately at £9.99 each.
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