HAUNTING: Kindred Theatre will perform a stage adaptation of Dickens’ The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain to Barney
HAUNTING: Kindred Theatre will perform a stage adaptation of Dickens’ The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain to Barney

A SHORT story by Charles Dickens will be brought to life in Barnard Castle next week.

Kindred Theatre presents The Haunted Man, adapted from Dickens’ The haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain – the fifth and last of the author’s Christmas novellas – at The Witham, Barnard Castle, on Wednesday, December 5.

In the ghostly production, four versatile actors take the audience through a world of shadows and candlelight on a journey that moves between modern day and the 1850 fictional world of Dickens’ original story.

It is Christmas Eve and Jonathan has recently moved into a care home.

His mind is deteriorating and reality becoming confused, but one memory stays strong – the one memory he wishes to forget.

A present is left for him; a book, a copy of Dickens’ The Haunted Man.

Kindred Theatre’s atmospheric production about love, loss and the true value of memory is a blend of candlelight, shadows, puppetry, original music, and theatrical storytelling.

It is a gripping and entertaining evening, but also thought provoking due to the growing issues of dementia and social care.

The production is accompanied by an audio exhibition of real-life stories gathered from Kindred Theatre’s intergenerational events held in collaboration with Age UK, Youth Groups and other community organisations at The Witham and other venues in spring 2018. Recorded in their own voices, these funny, moving, and surprising memories come from people aged between 16 and 100.

Sarah Gent, marketing manager at The Witham, said: “Embrace the old Victorian tradition of sharing ghost stories at Christmas time and come to enjoy this Dickens inspired production.”

For tickets, call 01833 631107 or go to www.ticket source.co.uk/date/533850