The five-time Tony Award®-winning production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol returns to Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre this festive season with Lachy Hulme, one of Australia’s most recognisable stage and screen actors, stepping into the iconic role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Celebrated by audiences around the world, The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol will play for a strictly limited 5-week season, with performances from Thursday 27 November. Tickets are now on sale via christmascarolaustralia.com.au.
An award-winning actor, Lachy Hulme’s work spans theatre, film, and television. On screen, Hulme has worked with legendary director George Miller, appearing in major films Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Three Thousand Years of Longing. He has performed with some of Australia’s leading theatre companies, featuring in Elling and Speed-The-Plow for Sydney Theatre Company, and The Speechmaker for Melbourne Theatre Company.
On television, Hulme gained national recognition for his role in the acclaimed drama Offspring and as Kerry Packer in Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War. His portrayal of media magnate Sir Frank Packer in Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch Story earned him both a Silver Logie and an AACTA Award. Hulme’s other credits include diverse roles spanning The Matrix Revolutions, Let’s Get Skase, The Hollowmen, Rush, Gallipoli, Jack Irish: Black Tide, The Secret River, Romper Stomper and a stint writing for the TV comedy Acropolis Now.
“I’m thrilled to be joining this show that has become a Christmas tradition for so many. Being part of a production like A Christmas Carol makes going to the office every day a pure joy, nothing compares to being on stage and the magic of connecting with an audience. This classic Charles Dickens story is a very clever take on how just a little change in your own approach to the world around you can have a ripple effect, there’s something both special and universal about that” said Lachy Hulme.
A Christmas Carol is proud to continue the tradition of partnering with organisations making a real difference each festive season. In 2025, the production is thrilled to support FareShare, Australia’s largest charity kitchen, FareShare works with volunteers to rescue surplus food and prepare it into nutritious meals for those experiencing food insecurity. Millions of meals each year are distributed to people doing it tough. Over the years, the generosity of A Christmas Carol’s audiences has helped raise nearly $750,000. Last year alone, almost one million meals were funded by audience donations.
Returning for the fourth consecutive year, this joyous and heartfelt production has become a Christmas tradition for Melbourne audiences, bringing the Comedy Theatre alive with merriment, tasty treats and festive cheer.
A Christmas Carol was conceived and directed by Matthew Warchus (Groundhog Day, Matilda the Musical) and adapted for the stage by playwright Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Netflix’s Enola Holmes). This acclaimed production will play in London, New York and Melbourne in 2025!
On a winter Christmas Eve, the cold-hearted miser, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by four ghosts. Transported to worlds past, present, and future, he witnesses what a lifetime of greed and fear could lead to and sees with fresh eyes the possibility of joy and kindness. Can Ebenezer be saved before it’s too late?
This magical interpretation welcomes theatre goers of all ages with dazzling staging, a moving story of redemption, and beloved carols, including “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night”, and “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”.
The adaptation was originally created by The Old Vic in London, debuting during the Christmas season of 2017, and due to its immense popularity, it has continued to make a return each year. It has since also graced the Broadway stage, securing 5 Tony Awards, embarked on a tour across the United States, and played in Melbourne for the last 3 years.
Overseas, the role of Scrooge has been performed by a raft of celebrated actors including Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), Stephen Mangan (The Split), Stephen Tompkinson (DCI Banks), Paterson Joseph (Vigil), Owen Teale (Game of Thrones, Line of Duty), Christopher Eccleston (Accused, The Leftovers) and John Simm (Grace, Life on Mars). In Melbourne, we have been delighted to have David Wenham in 2022, Owen Teale in 2023, and Erik Thomson in 2024.
Further casting announcements for the Melbourne 2025 season will be made soon. Don’t miss out on Melbourne’s most loved Christmas tradition, book your tickets today!
Image: Benny Capp
