Description

THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH & THE HAUNTED MAN, adapted by Eddie Robson and Jonathan Morris respectively, are full-cast adaptations of two little known Christmas tales by Charles Dickens, now available to purchase as a download.

The Cricket on the Hearth (originally published in 1845) concerns a carrier called John Peerybingle who fears his wife Dot may be unfaithful to him due to their age difference. The story also features an ill-matched wedding between the imperious factory owner Tackleton and the free-spirited May. A supernatural element is provided by a talking cricket that speaks to John after a drunken night out.

The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain: A Fancy for Christmas-Time, to give it its full title, is a darker tale about a scientist called Redlaw who is consumed by regret. Visited by a spirit in the form of his own shadow, he is given the chance to forget his troubles. However, this gift manifests as an infection and when other characters lose their sorrows we see how they are changed for the worse.