A Christmas Carol

When a theatre season finishes and a new one is announced, theatre types, actors and especially critics, love to play a game called Recreational Casting.

I do a lot of Recreational Casting on Coral FM.

So, I got to thinking. How about having some casting fun with Charles Dickens' timeless tome A Christmas Carol.

I've always wanted to play Mrs. Dilber … maybe someday, with my Poor Tom as Scrooge.

My all time favourite is, of course, the 1951 black and white classic Scrooge known world wide as A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim, (who died in 1976) as the Meanest Man in London, and Kathleen Harrison ( who died in 1995) as Mrs. Dilber. There is no version better.

Yet, this story has been done in so many ways, I thought why not have a jolly good stab at it myself?

So in a very silly, but seasonal, 12 part series, I present for your reading pleasure - The 12 Days of A Christmas Carol brought to you by A Christmas Coral. In this casting case I am leaving Sir and Dame names out - too much work- and I have Understudies because I just couldn't choose!

On the First Day of Christmas, my Casting Choice would be.

Peter O’Toole – Ebenezer Scrooge

Alan Rickman - Marley’s Ghost

John Gielgud – as Ghost of Christmas Past

Orson Welles – Ghost of Christmas Present

Anthony Hopkins - Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Ian Holm - Bob Cratchit

Judy Dench - Mrs Cratchit

Young Master Mark Lester -Tiny Tim

Pauline Collins – Mrs. Dilber

Young Master Albert Finney – Fred

(Alan Bates - Understudy for Ghost of Christmas Present

Richard Harris - Understudy for Scrooge

Richard Burton - Understudy for Ghost of Christmas Past

Lynn Redgrave - Understudy for Mrs. Dilber.)

*** and Peter O'Toole inbibing a Tumbler of Glenmorangie Single Malt in a tree ****