Cast and Creative team announced for A Christmas Carol at Theatre by the Lake
Theatre by the Lake today announces the cast and creative team for A Christmas Carol, its major Christmas 2026 production made in association with Goblin Theatre. The production runs from 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 in the Main House.
The seven-strong company of actor-musicians is Miiya Alexandra, Matthew Burns, Zach Burns, Neal Craig, Connor Going, Leah Jamieson and Eleanor Toms. Together they will create the production’s haunted Carol service, performing original songs and music live as the spirits of Christmas race to save the soul of Ebenezer Scrooge.
In this vibrant adaptation, Scrooge is a hard-nosed Victorian businessman from Keswick who has made his fortune in the big city but is without a song in his heart. He hates Christmas and everything about it, until his late business partner Jacob Marley returns from the grave and a night of supernatural encounters begins.
The cast brings extensive actor-musician experience from productions including the Olivier Award-winning The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Pride and Prejudice (sort of…), as well as work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, the New Vic, The Watermill Theatre, West End and international productions. The ensemble includes multi-instrumentalists whose skills span piano, saxophone, flute, clarinet, accordion, guitar, drums and cello.
Director Andy Barry says: “What excites me about this A Christmas Carol is the way the familiar story becomes strange and alive again. We begin with the idea of a haunted Carol service: music, voices, movement and puppetry draw us into Scrooge’s night, so the ghosts feel immediate and theatrical. It is spooky, joyful and deeply human – a Christmas story about what happens when someone who has shut himself away is brought back into community.”
Writer Matt Borgatti says: “Dickens gives us one of the great stories of transformation, but we wanted to tell it in a way that feels unmistakably Goblin: playful, atmospheric and driven by original live music. The actor-musicians are central to that world. They don’t simply accompany the story – the music becomes part of the haunting, part of Scrooge’s memories and part of the warmth that finally breaks through. We’re thrilled to be returning to Theatre by the Lake after The Lost Spells.”
Liz Stevenson, Artistic Director and joint CEO of Theatre by the Lake, says: “Christmas at Theatre by the Lake is about bringing generations together for an experience that feels magical, generous and made for this place. This version of A Christmas Carol has all the heart of Dickens’ classic, but with a distinctive theatrical language of live music, puppetry and ghostly storytelling. It is wonderful to welcome Goblin back to Keswick and to bring together such a talented company of actor-musicians and creatives for audiences this Christmas.”
A Christmas Carol is written by Matt Borgatti, with music and lyrics by Mary Erskine and Will Dollard, and directed by Andy Barry. The creative team also includes set and costume designer Carla Goodman, lighting designer Jane Lalljee, sound designer Joe Dines, rehearsal musical director Siân Campbell, movement director Jennifer Kay, puppet designer and director Oliver Hymans, costume supervisor Ellen Rey de Castro, puppet maker Lauren Hardbord, associate director Anna Berentzen, dialect coach Natalie Grady and production manager Tom Nickson.
The production is presented by Theatre by the Lake in association with Goblin, the company behind the theatre’s acclaimed 2023 co-production The Lost Spells. Goblin is known for innovative use of original music and for creating work for young and intergenerational audiences.
-ENDS-
CAST
Miiya Alexandra
Matthew Burns
Zach Burns
Neal Craig
Connor Going
Leah Jamieson
Eleanor Toms
CREATIVES
Writer – Matt Borgatti
Music and lyrics – Mary Erskine
Music and lyrics – Will Dollard
Director – Andy Barry
Set and Costume Designer – Carla Goodman
Lighting Designer – Jane Lalljee
Sound Designer – Joe Dines
Musical Director (Rehearsals) – Siân Campbell
Movement Director – Jennifer Kay
Puppet Designer and Director – Oliver Hymans (Puppets created by Little Angel Theatre)
Costume Supervisor – Ellen Rey de Castro
Little Angel Theatre Puppet Maker – Gisela Mulindwa
Little Angel Theatre Workshop Manager – Lauren Hardbord
Associate Director – Anna Berentzen
Dialect – Natalie Grady
Production Manager – Tom Nickson
Company Stage Manager – Sophie Acreman
Deputy Stage Manager – Sara Cowman
Assistant Stage Manager – Lizzie Ulyatt
About Goblin Theatre
Mary Erskine, Matt Borgatti and Will Dollard are Goblin. Goblin is an acclaimed theatre company known for its innovative use of original music, creating shows for audiences of all ages. The company created The Lost Spells, adapted from the book by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, a co-production between Watford Palace Theatre, Polka Theatre and Theatre by the Lake. Goblin has also brought festive studio shows including The Ballad of Rudy, The Jazz Penguin and Hey Diddle Diddle to Theatre by the Lake.
Theatre by the Lake
At its Keswick home in the heart of the Lake District, Theatre by the Lake is Cumbria’s leading producing theatre, creating and presenting ambitious work locally and in collaboration with partners on a national scale.
In 2025, the theatre welcomed 75,000 audience members, including 99 schools, and its national tour of Steel, a new Cumbrian play, won the UK Theatre Award for Excellence in Touring. In 2026, Theatre by the Lake also won the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award at the Cumbria Tourism Awards, recognising its commitment to being a welcoming and inclusive place for everyone.
Alongside its producing programme, Theatre by the Lake supports Cumbrian artists and young people through creative development, skills-building and access to theatre across the region.
Theatre by the Lake (Cumbria Theatre Trust) is a registered charity, no. 516673.
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