Andrew Lincoln to play Scrooge in livestreamed production of A Christmas Carol

Andrew Lincoln is about to get familiar with the past, present, and future.

On Monday, The Old Vic theater in London announced that The Walking Dead star will take on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in this year’s "Old Vic: In Camera" production of Jack Thorne’s A Christmas Carol, a play based on the 1843 novella of the same name by Charles Dickens.

The festive production will be directed by Matthew Warchus. Now in it fourth year, the play will be streamed live from The Old Vic stage, with the empty auditorium serving as the show’s backdrop but, for the first time in the Old Vic: In Camera series, the production will be presented as a full-scale show with live musicians, theatrical lighting, sets and costumes, and with a cast of 18 performers.

"I am delighted to announce that Andrew Lincoln has joined us in what must surely be one of the most ambitious and complex pieces of live streamed theatre attempted in the pandemic so far," said Warchus in a statement. "The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol has moved and entertained over a quarter of a million people in London and New York over the last three Christmases and we made a pledge last spring that we would still present it, in some form or other, even in this most challenging of years."

Warchus’ production of Jack Thorne’s A Christmas Carol premiered at The Old Vic in 2017 and made its Broadway debut at New York’s Lyceum Theatre in 2019. It’s now nominated for five 2020 Tony Awards. Lincoln will be joined on stage by Melissa Allan, Rosanna Bates, John Dagleish, Tim van Eyken, Sam Lathwood, Eugene McCoy, Myra McFadyen, Gloria Obianyo, Maria Omakinwa, Golda Rosheuvel, Michael Rouse, Clive Rowe, and Sam Townsend.

The production will play 16 live performances Dec. 12-24, with 80,000 tickets available throughout the run from £10–£65, with all ticket prices offering the same view. Audiences only need to buy one ticket to watch with a group on the same screen.

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