NEXT week will see the return of A Christmas Carol to the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

It’s a swift return brought about by public demand following last year’s festive treat in which Phil Davis took on the role of Scrooge.

Now this new adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic – one of the most loved short stories ever written - will see Aden Gillett in the main role.

The Dickens tale, adapted by David Edgar, will as usual take its audience through one ghostly Christmas night, where cold-hearted businessman, Ebenezer Scrooge, learns to pity himself and to love his neighbour – but is that enough?

Aden Gillett is in his RSC debut season, but he has been in numerous stage plays and films which include The Borrowers and The Winslow Boy. Television credits include Vera, Lewis, Midsomer Murders, and also The Crown and Ivanhoe among others.

Other well known names and faces in the cast are Claire Carrie, Steven Elliott, Clive Hayward and Danielle Henry.

Edgar is one of our greatest living writers. His rich history with the RSC stretches from Destiny in 1976 through the multi-award-winning adaptation of Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby, to Written on the Heart (2011).

Here he returns to Dickens to rediscover the social conscience of this timeless tale which is a festive story of redemption and compassion.

Suitable for ages seven and over and children go half-price.

A Christmas Carol is at the RST until January 20, 2019.