CHARLES Dickens’ definitive Christmas tale will be brought to life in the aptly Victorian setting of Kirkgate Market by Leeds-based theatre company Front Room Productions, from November 27 to December 2.

Spectators will be given privileged access to the atmospheric space after trading hours, weaving in and out of the market’s nooks and crannies as they follow Scrooge on his path to redemption.

The audience will be fully immersed in the Dickensian setting, serenaded by an original score from composer and performer Claire-Marie Seddon, written for a rich combination of strings, brass and accordion. The score, according to Miss Seddon, is “atmospheric and Dickensian inspired, with spine-tingling, intricately arranged Christmas carols for a strong cast of Actor-Musicians.”

Olivia Race, who adapted the novel and will be directing the show, explains the immersive element: “Theatre-goers will be wholeheartedly encouraged to enter into the Christmas spirit, and partake in a cup of mulled wine while they play party games with Fred – Scrooge’s nephew - and brush shoulders with the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come.”

The show’s producer, Alice Barber, adds: “We also hope that courageous members of the audience will join the ensemble in the festive ceilidh dance at Fezziwig’s legendary Christmas Party!”

Front Room Productions exists to create theatre in unconventional spaces, staging high-quality, intimate theatre where you least expect to find it. The company is no stranger to Dickens, having staged an acclaimed adaptation of Oliver Twist as it’s inaugural production at Kirkgate Market back in January, which returned to the space again in October. Over the summer, the company launched its Shakespearean season, first staging a series of Pop-Up Shakespeare Performances in the Market, and later an ambitious promenade adaptation of Twelfth Night that transported Shakespeare’s original text into a fun, rural setting at a working farm in Adel.

The company is immensely proud to have roots in West Yorkshire, and endeavours to stage productions that showcase and celebrate the wealth of talented performers working across the region. A Christmas Carol will open in Leeds before touring to York, Bradford, and Manchester in the run up to Christmas.

Venue: Kirkgate Market, Entrance via Ludgate Hill, Leeds, LS2 7HY,; Dates: 27th November-2nd December; Performances: 7pm and 8.45pm; Running time: 1h20.

Ticket prices: Standard £15 / Concessions £12. Book online: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-christmas-carol-leeds-tickets-37496598335. Facebook event: http://bit.ly/2fgPaaI

The production will be at Bradford Playhouse from December 11 to 16.