East Sussex production of A Christmas Carol set to raise money for the foodbanks

Spokesman Neil Russell explains: “When Ellie Hale went to donate to her local foodbank just before Christmas 2022, she was struck by two things: the generosity of people who had contributed and the fact that the volume provided was well short of what was required. This year she decided she would help to do something about it.

“As a result she has produced and directed Dickens' story A Christmas Carol with several shows happening in the first week of December. This is a play that captures the Christmas magic of Scrooge, a miser in spirit and wealth, who is shown how he can transform lives through his generosity – a transformation he embraces.”

As Ellie says: “In the words of Dickens, we chose this show at Christmas as it's a time of year when ‘want is keenly felt and abundance rejoices.’ Nurses and teachers are being forced to use our foodbanks and we wanted to do what we could to spread some joy and raise some much-needed funds at Christmas. The cast and crew have given their time, talent and self-funded this production so every penny raised goes directly to the foodbanks. And this wouldn't have been possible without the generous support of our wonderful venues Printers Playhouse and Hailsham Pavilion.

“A talented pool of seasoned actors combine to bring this heart-warming tale to life with skill, passion and enthusiasm. It is a show that will give you Christmas joy right at the start of December. Clive Hale deserves special recognition for the way he convincingly evolves Scrooge from the cold, heartless, skinflint into a man who takes child-like, selfless joy in enriching the lives of those he comes into contact with.

“The close-to-sold-out performances mean that around £3,000 has been raised so far. Ambitions are higher and through raffles and voluntary donations the hope is that £4,000 could be raised.”

Performances are at 6pm and 7.30 pm on December 2 and 3 at Printers Playhouse on Grove Road in Eastbourne and 11am at Hailsham Pavilion on December 3. If you wish to donate to the Foodbanks directly go to eastbourne.foodbank.org.uk or hailsham.foodbank.org. Tickets may also be available on the door. There will be a chance to buy raffle tickets in the venues around the performance times.