THE great-grandson of Charles Dickens will be giving a special performance of A Christmas Carol at a village hall near Winchester.

Gerald Dickens will return to the Victoria Hall in Sutton Scotney on February 24 to perform his internationally acclaimed one-man show, following on from a sold out performance at the venue last August.

“Charles was passionate about theatre,” said Gerald. “He loved being on the stage from an early age and for the last decade of his life Charles toured extensively giving dramatic renditions of his books.”

He continued: “The shows were not mere literary readings but vibrant performances in which every character had its own voice, stance and expression. Most popular among these was A Christmas Carol which he performed throughout the year.”

Gerald Dickens recently returned from a six week tour of the USA, during which he performed the Christmas classic over 70 times.“The story never becomes old or routine, every time I step onto the stage and recite the opening line ‘Marley was dead, to begin with’ it is as if I am embarking on the adventure for the first time,” he said.

“I have adapted the script myself but it uses Dickens’ original text as its base. The language is so perfect there seems little point in trying to change it.”

Doors open at 7pm.Tickets for over-16s are £10, pensioners £7.50 and children £5.

Contact Eryl Holt at eryl@boxcottage.co.uk or call 01962 760778. Proceeds will be donated to the upkeep of Victoria Hall.