Advertisement
In October of 1843 Charles Dickens visited Manchester, England and gave a speech about the societal problems that had developed since the Industrial Revolution. He decried the living conditions of the city’s working poor and was outraged by the child labor situation in his country. After his speech, he took a walk and thought about what might be done to call attention to the gross injustices he saw. He was also troubled by a rigid de-emphasis many of his countrymen had placed on the celebration of Christmas, a hold-over from the days of Oliver Cromwell when Christmas celebration was actually outlawed.
A story began to form in Dickens’ mind about a self-absorbed miser who experiences a change of heart toward Christmas, the people he knows and works with, and life in general. That story became, A Christmas Carol. To have it published before Christmas, Dickens canceled his other engagements and concentrated on this project exclusively for six weeks. No publisher could meet his tight deadline, so on December 19 he self-published 6,000 initial copies. It was an immediate success. All copies were sold by Christmas Eve. The book has been in print continuously now for 176 years.
Dickens was suggesting a controversial idea - that employers bear some responsibility for the welfare of their employees and their families; that those who reap the benefits of an industrial society are obliged to see and address the suffering of those who work in the mines, factories and shops. He states this more broadly when he has the ghost of Marley say:
“It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow man and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!”
In 1853, Dickens gave a public performance of the story to an audience of 2,000 people. In this dramatic reading, we are pleased to use the same script that Dickens used in his public readings of, A Christmas Carol, including his 1867 tour of the United States. We hope you will enjoy this dramatic reading of, A Christmas Carol.
The performance is read in one act –about one hour in length.
Performances begin at 7pm.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
4253 Division Ave S, Grand Rapids, MI, United States, Michigan 49548
Tickets
