CHICAGO—Most people are familiar with novelist Charles Dickens (1812–1870), who wrote “A Christmas Carol,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” “Oliver Twist,” “Great Expectations,” and more. What few, however, know is that Dickens was a bit of an actor and was enthralled with theater. That’s one of the reasons that “Charles Dickens Grudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again” is such a perfect Christmas offering at the Theater Wit in Chicago.
Dickens considered himself an actor and acted in and directed some amateur productions. While writing his novels, he impersonated many of the characters, which may explain why so many of his novels have the kind of drama that makes them work so well as stage plays and movies.
He enjoyed acting so much that, in the 1850s, he began reading his works to the public. In the last dozen years of his life, he gave about 470 performances in Britain and America. Among all those readings, the most popular, especially at Christmas, must have been “A Christmas Carol.”
A Novel Premise
Now, in a tour de force performance, Blake Montgomery channels Dickens and recreates what it must have been like to attend one of Dickens’ scintillating performances. The one-man show is presented as Dickens returns to the stage for a public reading. More interesting is the fascinating premise that Dickens, still alive, has for 172 years been presenting a stage reading of his book “A Christmas Carol.”
During the show, we discover that Dickens did read an adaptation of his novel on a British stage for years. The show, created by Montgomery who performs as Dickens, was presented more than a decade ago. Last year and, again, this year, Montgomery revived the work with even crisper detail and deeper understanding.
After all these years, it’s assumed that Dickens would tire of doing the same public reading over and over again. Montgomery seems more than good to go on with the show.
The theater is dressed up as Victorian England. The stage is the kind Dickens used, including a Christmas tree. Pictures of the novelist hang along the green-draped walls. Soft, haunting lighting suggests an other-worldly atmosphere where ghosts may conjured up to invoke the happiness of the Christmas spirit.
Directed by Jonathan Berry, the show moves swiftly with elegant precision. But it’s Montgomery who mesmerizes as Dickens. Dressed to the hilt in Victorian garb, complete with a wig, the actor truly resembles the great literary figure. With a velvety rich voice and an irresistible ability to bring the audience into his world, Montgomery reads Dickens’s words exactly as the great novelist wrote them.
He does an amazing job producing all the characters—a compelling Marley, the Christmas Spirits, and even Tiny Tim—but he’s at his best in the part of Ebenezer Scrooge. Wonderfully, he explores Scrooge’s humanity and the drama of a man trying to redeem his life. The effect is dazzling and mesmerizing.
As the show is marvelous, it’s curious that the word “grudgingly” appears in the title. There’s nothing “grudging” in Montgomery’s performance. Indeed, he appears to be having the time of his life. And all of the theatergoers seemed not in the least to have a “grudging” response to Montgomery.
This is a terrific retelling of Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.” But it’s also a pleasurable glance at yesteryear’s storytelling. While many holiday productions can sometimes be too large and too loud, “Charles Dickens Grudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again” offers so much intimacy and human connection that it comes across with a spiritual dimension lacking in bigger shows.
‘Charles Dickens Grudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again’
Presented by Clownshow at the Theater Wit
1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago
Tickets: 773-975-8150 or DickensAgain.com
Running Time: one hour, 35 minutes (no intermission)
Closes: Dec. 28, 2025
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