Something magical happens every winter at the Old Vic. Snow begins to fall (on stage, at least), lanterns flicker to life, and that familiar clinking of chains signals the arrival of spirits past, present, and future. This year, the theatre’s now-iconic production of A Christmas Carol returns once more, and there’s another theatre great set to don Scrooge’s battered top hat. Olivier Award-winner Paul Hilton will take up the miserly mantle of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Adapted by the multi award-winning, prolific playwright Jack Thorne (Adolescence, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Motive and the Cue) and directed by Olivier Award-winner, Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical, Groundhog Day, Present Laughter), has become a cornerstone of London’s festive theatre calendar since it first premiered in 2017. Moody, musical, and moving, the show wraps Charles Dickens’ classic tale in candlelight and compassion, complete with live carolers, a towering feast, and a few on-stage surprises that remain under lock and key until opening night.
Hilton, known for his nuanced performances and quiet intensity, feels like inspired casting. Whether playing the enigmatic Paul in The Inheritance (which won him his Olivier), the chaotic Peter Pan in Peter and Alice, or a haunted doctor in Anatomy of a Suicide, he brings emotional depth and a kind of ethereal grit to every role. On screen, audiences may recognise him from Slow Horses,The Crown, Lady Macbeth, or The Lost Daughter.
The ghosts are ready, the pudding is steaming, and the transformation is about to begin. At The Old Vic, Christmas really does come early, and this year, with Hilton at the helm, it might just hit a little harder.