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1 Scene 1: A street in London, December 24, 1843, late afternoon (Curtain closed, lights down.

The "Carol of the Bells" is heard. As the curtain opens to a winter street scene, softly lit with flickering lanterns, voices are added cumulatively, until a quartet is singing the carol. Behind a large sign - "Scrooge and Marley". A figure centre stage (the narrator) collects donations from citizens in the street. The song ends to applause, donations etc., until Scrooge enters.) SCROOGE Be off with you! (They scatter, save the narrator. Scrooge crosses the stage, looking about to ensure all are gone.) MARLEY (offstage, haunting) Scrooge! SCROOGE Jacob Marley? NARRATOR (looking over to Scrooge) Marleys dead. (They stare at one another for a moment, before Scrooge stalks off stage, muttering Bah, humbug. The narrator sits on a bench to address the audience.) NARRATOR Yes, Marley was dead. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk and the undertaker. (She thumbs in the direction of Scrooges exit.) Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon the Exchange for anything he chose to put his hand to. Scrooge and Marley were partners for I don't know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole friend, and sole mourner. (She gestures over her shoulder to the sign.) Scrooge never painted out old Marley's name. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. (Scrooge now enters centre balcony, putting on his gloves and hat and surveying the street with a glare. Townspeople re-enter slowly over the next speech. The narrator rises and moves downstage.) Ah, but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! Hard and sharp as flint; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature

2 always about with him; he iced his office in the dog days, and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas. Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?' No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. But what did Scrooge care! It was the very thing he liked. Until one day -- of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve (The narrator exits, as does Scrooge. The stage is now full of citizens and well-dressed businessmen. Music is heard, softly, violin, playing "Silent Night." A soloist begins to sing the carol, centre stage, then is joined by a second, third, fourth and fifth. They come forward, holding candles, singing until the song is done. Applause from the crowd. Coins etc. are given. Scrooge re-enters the main stage, then barks at all with hostility.) SCROOGE I said be off with you! (The square clears. Scrooge takes out his key and turns to his office doors.) MARLEY (in follow spot from audience) Scrooge! (Now Scrooge turns and moves downstage, a little nervously this time. He scans the audience as the light goes out, seeing nothing.) SCROOGE (muttering, hesitantly) Jacob..Marley? (Silence, except for a low, whistling wind. He shakes his head as if to clear it, and enters his office. Music, low and sinister, as Marley's ghost gains the stage and sits by the curtain.)

3 Scene 2: The offices of Scrooge and Marley (Marleys ghost sits unseen, staring blankly at the audience, downstage left. Scrooges office is dimly lit and poorly furnished with two desks, one small and one larger, two chairs, and a coal fireplace. It is cold, marked by Bob Cratchit sitting bundled up at one desk; as Scrooge enters, he scrambles to get his coat and hat and hang them up. Scrooge ignores him completely, and goes to sit at his desk with his ledger. The clock strikes five. Cratchit checks his pocket watch, then hides it quickly. He rises to put some more coal on the fire.) SCROOGE (barking, without looking up) Cratchit! CRATCHIT (freezing in place, and timidly) Yes, sir? SCROOGE Are you wasting my coal, Cratchit? CRATCHIT No, sir. SCROOGE (looking up) I see. Then it has become your habit to walk about the room with my coal scuttle in hand? CRATCHIT (hesitantly) No, sir. Its just that its rather cold, sir. And I thought SCROOGE (interrupting him) I dont pay you to think, Cratchit. And every moment you stand there idle is a moment of lost labour and therefore lost wages. Am I clear, Cratchit? CRATCHIT Yes, sir. (He returns glumly to his desk. Silence. Scrooge's nephew Fred bursts in.) FRED (cheerfully) A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you! SCROOGE Bah! Humbug! FRED Christmas a humbug, uncle? You don't mean that, Im sure!

SCROOGE I do. Merry Christmas! What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough. FRED What reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough. (Scrooge rises, indignant.) Don't be cross, uncle! SCROOGE What else can I be, when I live in such a world of fools? Merry Christmas! Out upon Merry Christmas! What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in them presented dead against you? If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart! FRED (pleading) Uncle! SCROOGE (sternly) Nephew! Keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine. FRED Keep it!? But you don't keep it. SCROOGE Let me leave it alone, then. Much good may it do you! Much good it has ever done you! FRED There are many things by which I have not profited, Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, when men and women seem to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it! (Cratchit applauds. Scrooge glares at him, and he quickly stuffs his hands in his pockets.) SCROOGE (to Cratchit) Another sound from you, and you'll keep your Christmas by losing your job! (turning to his nephew) You're quite a powerful speaker, sir. I wonder you don't go into Parliament. FRED Don't be angry, uncle. Come! Dine with us tomorrow.

SCROOGE I thank you, no. FRED But why? SCROOGE Why did you get married against my will? FRED Because I fell in love. SCROOGE (growling) Because you fell in love! Good afternoon! FRED You never came to see me before that happened. Why give it as a reason for not coming now? I want nothing from you; I ask nothing of you; why can't we be friends? SCROOGE (coldly) Good afternoon. FRED I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. We have never had any quarrel to which I have been a party. But I have made the trial in homage to Christmas, and I'll keep my Christmas humour to the last. So a Merry Christmas, uncle! (He turns to leave.) SCROOGE (shouting after him) Good afternoon! FRED (turning to him again) And a Happy New Year! SCROOGE It's all humbug! (He plunks himself back into his books as Fred addresses Cratchit,) FRED How is Mrs. Cratchit, and all the little Cratchits? BOB CRACHIT All very well, thank you, sir.

FRED All excited for Christmas to begin? BOB CRACHIT Oh, yes, sir, all very eager. FRED And the little lame boy - Tim - how is he? BOB CRACHIT We're in high hopes he's getting better, sir. FRED Good! A merry Christmas to you! BOB CRACHIT Thank you, sir, and a Merry Christmas to you, sir, I'm sure. FRED Thank you. (Fred makes a little bow and exits the office, as two gentlemen enter. Cratchit nervously points in the direction of Scrooge.) SCROOGE (without looking up) Hah! You, a clerk, with fifteen shillings a week, and a wife and family, talking about a merry Christmas. (Scrooge sits at this desk. Cratchit sinks into his seat. The gentlemen step forward, smiling.) GENTLEMAN #1 Scrooge and Marley's, I believe. Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or Mr. Marley? (Scrooge does not look up.) SCROOGE Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years. He died seven years ago, this very night. GENTLEMAN #2 We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner. (At the word liberality Scrooge looks up, frowns, and shakes his head.)

7 GENTLEMAN #1 (enthusiastically) At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir. SCROOGE Are there no prisons? GENTLEMAN #1 (confused) Plenty of prisons. SCROOGE And the Union workhouses? Are they still in operation? GENTLEMAN #2 (darkly) They are. I wish I could say they were not. SCROOGE The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then? GENTLEMAN #1 (a little offended now) Both very busy, sir. SCROOGE Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course. I'm very glad to hear it. (Taken aback, the two gentlemen exchange looks of disbelief.) GENTLEMAN #2 (patiently) Sir, I do not think you understand. A few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when want is keenly felt, and abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for? SCROOGE Nothing! GENTLEMAN #1 You wish to be anonymous? SCROOGE I wish to be left alone. Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I

8 help to support the establishments I have mentioned. They cost enough, and those who are badly off must go there. GENTLEMAN #2 Many can't go there; and many would rather die. SCROOGE If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population . GENTLEMAN #1 (protesting) But, sir, you must know that -SCROOGE (sharply) It's not my business! It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen! (The gentlemen glare at Scrooge, then exit. Scrooge checks his pocket watch, sighs in despair, then readies to leave the office, as Cratchit goes for his coat and hat.) SCROOGE (with contempt) You'll want all day tomorrow, I suppose? BOB CRACHIT If quite convenient, sir. SCROOGE It's not convenient, and it's not fair. If I was to stop you half-a-crown for it, you'd think yourself ill-used, wouldn't you? And yet, you don't think me ill-used, when I pay a day's wages for no work. BOB CRACHIT (meekly) It's only once a year, sir. SCROOGE That's a poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December! (reluctantly) But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier the next morning. BOB CRACHIT Oh, yes sir, by all means, sir. And a MerSCROOGE (abruptly cutting him off) Will you stand there until I change my mind, Cratchit? Or will you take your good fortune and leave me in peace?

9 (Cratchit grabs his coat, hat and scarf and exits hastily. Scrooge finishes closing up. He turns down the lights and moves towards the door. Marleys music is heard.) MARLEY (haunting, over audience) Scrooge! SCROOGE (whirling around and coming downstage to audience) Jacob Marley! I swear it's you! (pause) I must be losing my mind. (Music up. He turns to leave, nervously glancing over his shoulder. As he closes the office doors and exits, Marley exits as well, unseen.)

10 Scene 3: Scrooge's Apartment (The apartment is dominated by a four-poster bed, with a fireplace on one side, a small desk and chair, and a wing chair. Scrooge enters. He seems nervous. He picks up a candle, and surveys the apartment, checking for something. Satisfied when he finds nothing, he sits in the wing chair with some relief. After a moment, the sound of a Christmas carol- "O Come All Ye Faithful" -- is heard from the street. Scrooge rises, goes to the doors and shuts them, drowning out the sound.) SCROOGE Christmas! It's humbug, I say! (He returns to his chair and settles, opening a newspaper. A low, whistling sound is heard, followed by a louder scraping, clanking and thumping noise. Scrooge grabs a blanket and throws it over his head.) SCROOGE It's humbug still! I won't believe it. (The noise reaches its crescendo as the Ghost of Jacob Marley bursts through the doors stage right. Scrooge lets out a gasp and cowers in his chair. Marley seems to look right through him. Marley drags a long chain, wound around his middle, and made of cashboxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, heavy purses etc.) SCROOGE (cold, but fearful) How now! What do you want with me? MARLEY Much! SCROOGE Who are you? MARLEY Ask me who I was. SCROOGE Who were you then? MARLEY In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley. SCROOGE (disbelieving) Can you -- can you sit down?

11 MARLEY I can. SCROOGE Do it, then. MARLEY (after a pause) You don't believe in me. SCROOGE I don't. MARLEY Why do you doubt your senses? SCROOGE Because a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheat. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are! (He laughs at his own joke, and picks up a toothpick.) You see this toothpick? MARLEY I do. SCROOGE (waving it in front of Marleys face) Youre not looking at it! MARLEY But I see it, notwithstanding. SCROOGE Well -- I have but to swallow this, and be for the rest of my days persecuted by a legion of goblins, all of my own creation. Its humbug, I tell you. Humbug! (Here Marley rises in a frightful howling, shaking his chain, as Scrooge clutches his chair in horror, then falls upon his knees, and clasps his hands before his face.) SCROOGE Mercy! Dreadful apparition, why do you trouble me? MARLEY Man of the worldly mind! Do you believe in me or not? SCROOGE I do. I must. But why do spirits walk the earth, and why do they come to me?

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MARLEY It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world -- oh, woe is me! -- and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness! SCROOGE (trembling, and noticing his chains) You are fettered. Tell me why? MARLEY I wear the chain I forged in life, I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you? Or would you know the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago, and you have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain! SCROOGE Jacob, old Jacob Marley, tell me more. Speak comfort to me, Jacob! MARLEY I have none to give. It comes from other regions, Ebenezer Scrooge, and is conveyed by other ministers, to other kinds of men. Nor can I tell you what I would. A very little more is all that is permitted to me. I cannot rest, I cannot stay, I cannot linger anywhere. In life my spirit never walked beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me! SCROOGE Seven years dead. And travelling all the time! MARLEY The whole time. No rest, no peace. Incessant torture of remorse. Oh, captive, bound, and double-ironed! Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh, such was I! SCROOGE But you were always a good man of business, Jacob. MARLEY (shouting) Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. And at this time of the year, I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?

13 SCROOGE But, JacobMARLEY (interrupting him) Hear me, Ebenezer Scrooge! My time is nearly gone. How it is that I appear before you in a shape that you can see, I may not tell. I have sat invisible beside you many and many a day. (Scrooge cringes at this thought.) That is no light part of my penance. I am here tonight to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. A chance and hope of my procuring. SCROOGE You were always a good friend to me, Jacob. I thank you. MARLEY You will be haunted by three Spirits. SCROOGE (hesitantly) Is that the chance and hope you mentioned, Jacob? MARLEY It is. SCROOGE (slinking away) Then I -- I think I'd rather not. MARLEY Without their visits, you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. Expect the first tonight, when the bell tolls one. SCROOGE Couldn't I take them all at once, and have it over, Jacob? MARLEY (ignoring him, and rising) Look to see me no more; and look that, for your own sake, you remember what has passed between us! SCROOGE But JacobMARLEY Ask of me no more. But see the world with other eyes, Ebenezer Scrooge - behold! (Music up, as Marley gestures to the balconies, where two other ghosts appear. They wear chains, and are wailing, pleading, seeking to help those in need beneath them - a poor woman with an infant, below balcony left, and a crippled old man, right.)

14 SCROOGE (terrified) Why do they wail, Jacob? MARLEY They seek to interfere for good in human matters, but have lost their power forever. (Scrooge moves towards each, as they in turn exit. Meanwhile, Marley exits, unseen. Scrooge turns to find him gone. Panicking, he bolts all the doors, scrambles into bed, and draws his curtains. Lights out.)

15 Scene 4: The Ghost of Christmas Past (Lights up dimly on Scrooge in his bed. It is quiet. The sound of wind grows slowly, with low, sinister violin music. The volume increases as the clock strikes one. Suddenly the doors stage right swing open, the lights flicker and then intensify, and the Ghost of Christmas Past enters, dressed in a white robe. All is silent again. The Ghost raps her staff three times. Only then does Scrooge peer through his curtains, cowering.) SCROOGE (hesitantly) Are you the Spirit whose coming was foretold to me? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST (softly) I am. SCROOGE Who and what are you? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. SCROOGE Long past? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST No. Your past. SCROOGE And what interest do you have in me? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Your welfare. SCROOGE I thank you. But if that is the case, I would as soon prefer a full night's sleep. (He starts to draw his curtains.) GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Call it your reclamation, then. (More firmly) Take heed, Ebenezer Scrooge. (He climbs out of bed. She holds out a hand.) Rise and walk with me. (They move toward the doors stage right; Scrooge hesitates.) SCROOGE The balcony? But I am mortal, and liable to fall.

16 GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Bear but a touch of my hand, and you shall be upheld in more than this. (She takes Scrooge's hand and they exit through the doors. Music up. Set changes as they re-enter to the apron on the right, to a school room. Stage left a lonely boy sits forlornly at a desk.) SCROOGE Good Heavens! My old school. I was a boy here. Are these things real, Spirit? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST These are but shadows of the things that have been. They have no consciousness of us. The school is not quite deserted, Ebenezer Scrooge. A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still. SCROOGE (bitterly) I know. I know. I was ever alone at this time of year. (Fan enters, rushing to the young Scrooge and embracing him.) FAN (excitedly) Dear, dear brother! I have come to bring you home! YOUNG SCROOGE (doubtful) Home. little Fan? FAN Yes. Home, forever and ever. Father is so much kinder than he used to be, that home's like Heaven. He spoke so gently to me one night when I was going to bed, that I was not afraid to ask him once more if you might come home; and he said yes, you should; and sent me in a coach to bring you. And you're never to come back here; but first, we're to be together all the Christmas long, and have the merriest time in all the world. YOUNG SCROOGE (noticing her as if for the first time) You are quite a woman, little Fan. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST (turning to audience as scene changes on stage) Your sister was always a delicate creature, whom a breath might have withered. But she had a large heart. SCROOGE (sady, turning to audience, head down) So she had. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST She died a married woman, and had, I think, children.

17 SCROOGE (uneasily) One child. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST True, your nephew. SCROOGE She died giving him life. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST As your own mother died giving you life, for which your father never forgave you, as if you were to blame. (The scene behind them has changed into something resembling Scrooge's office, but with another sign visible, "Fezziwig and co." A young Marley and a young Scrooge sit working at their desks. The Ghost points in their direction.) GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Do you know this place? SCROOGE (happily surprised by the change of scene) Know it? I apprenticed here. (Fezziwig enters with a flourish.) Why, it's old Fezziwig! Bless his heart; it's Fezziwig alive again! FEZZIWIG (with energy) Ebenezer! Jacob! SCROOGE Jacob Marley ... bless my soul FEZZIWIG (with a sharp clap of his hands) Well my boys! No more work tonight. Christmas Eve, Jacob! Christmas, Ebenezer! Time for celebration and good cheer! (Mrs. Fezziwig and Belle enter, bringing in glasses and punch for a toast. They are followed by carol singers, who sing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, to applause, and toasts all around. Fezziwig hands a coin to each caroler, and they exit.) YOUNG SCROOGE AND MARLEY To Mr. Fezziwig! (After the toast, young Scrooge moves to sit with Belle, and Marley chats with Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig.) SCROOGE (appreciatively) Oh, was there ever a kinder man?

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GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST And yet, what has this party cost him in your mortal money? Three or four pounds at most. Is that so much that he deserves your praise? SCROOGE It isn't that. .. (enthusiastically) It's the happiness he gave to us his clerks and apprentices and all who knew him. It was as great as if it cost a ... fortune. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST What is the matter? SCROOGE Nothing in particular. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Something, I think. SCROOGE No ... No. I should like to be able to say a word or two to my own clerk, Bob Cratchit, just now. That's all. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Turn and see yourself in love, Ebenezer Scrooge. BELLE It's a beautiful ring. But I mustn't accept it. YOUNG SCROOGE Why not? Is it because its not good enough for you? BELLE Of course not! But you're still so young, you may have a change of heart one day. YOUNG SCROOGE Never! Unless my heart ceases to beat. BELLE And it makes no difference that I'm poor? YOUNG SCROOGE I love you because you're poor, not proud and foolish. BELLE Then ... I accept your ring. (They embrace.)

19 SCROOGE (turning away in despair) I've seen enough! GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Yet more awaits you. SCROOGE I won't look! GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST You shall. (The scene changes to a room where Fan lies dying, a younger Scrooge by her side.) SCROOGE No, Spirit, not here! GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Yes, here. FAN Ebenezer. .. they sent for you ... promise me ... YOUNG SCROOGE Promise you what, Fan? I'll promise you anything, but there isn't going to be any need. You're going to get well again, Fan. FAN No ... YOUNG SCROOGE You are! Dear God, you must! You mustn't die, Fan! You're going to get well again! (Fan slips into sleep, and Young Scrooge turns and exits in anger.) SCROOGE (in horror to the Ghost) How could you have brought me here? Have you no mercy, no pity? FAN Ebenezer. .. brother. .. promise me you'll take care of my boy. Promise me you'll take care of my ... (She dies.) GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST You heard her.

20 SCROOGE Forgive me Fan. Forgive me. Oh, forgive me Fan .... (He puts his face in his hands and weeps, as the scene changes once more, to reveal Young Scrooge with Belle. The Ghost touches Scrooge on the shoulder, so he looks.) SCROOGE (looking up, slowly) Belle ... ? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST The same Belle you swore to love to all eternity, Ebenezer. She has not changed by the harshness of the world. But you are. YOUNG SCROOGE Then you no longer love me. BELLE You no longer love me. YOUNG SCROOGE When have I ever said that? BELLE In words, never. YOUNG SCROOGE Well in what then? BELLE In the way you have changed. YOUNG SCROOGE But how have I changed towards you? BELLE By changing towards the world. YOUNG SCROOGE Is it such a terrible thing for a man to struggle to be something better than he is? BELLE Another idol has displaced me in your heart -- a golden idol. YOUNG SCROOGE It's singular that the world that can be so brutally cruel to the poor can condemn the pursuit of wealth in the same breath.

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BELLE You fear the world too much. YOUNG SCROOGE With reason! But I am not changed towards you. BELLE Aren't you? (She pauses to remove her ring.) Our contract is an old one. It was made when we were both poor and content to be so. If you had never made that promise, tell me, would you seek me out and try to win me now? YOUNG SCROOGE (hesitating) Of course I would. BELLE (firmly) No. If you were free today, would you choose a dowerless girl, with neither wealth nor social standing, you, who now weigh everything by gain? It would bring you nothing but repentance and regret. That is why I release you. (She hands back his ring.) You know I'm right then. YOUNG SCROOGE I can hear by your conviction that you are. BELLE May you be happy in the life you have chosen. YOUNG SCROOGE (angry) Thank you. I shall be. (Young Scrooge pockets the ring and storms out. Belle holds her face in her hands in despair. Scrooge moves to the Ghost as the scene changes once more.) SCROOGE Spirit... show me no more. Conduct me home. Why do you delight to torture me? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST You have left more shadows, Ebenezer Scrooge. SCROOGE No more. No more, I don't wish to see them. Show me no more. (The Ghost and Scrooge move to the apron in spotlight as the scene quickly changes to seven years ago, at the offices of Scrooge and Marley, where Scrooge and Cratchit sit hard at work. Mrs. Dilber enters.)

22 MRS. DILBER (to Cratchit) Pardon me. I've just come to say that Mister Marley ain't expected to make it through the night, and that if Mister Scrooge wishes to take his leave of him, he'd best nip along sharply, or there won't be no Mister Marley to take leave of, as we know the use of the word. He's breathing very poorly - when he does breathe at all. BOB CRATCHIT (timidly approaching Scrooge) Mr. Scrooge? PAST SCROOGE (not looking up) I'm busy. BOB CRATCHIT It's about Mr. Marley, sir. He's dying. PAST SCROOGE Well, what do you want me to do about it? If he's dying, he's dying. BOB CRATCHIT The message was for you to go at once, sir. PAST SCROOGE (looking at his pocket watch) Its now a quarter to five. The business of the office is not yet done. Ill go when the office is closed. At seven o'clock. BOB CRATCHIT Yes, sir. (He returns to Mrs. Dilber.) He'll come at seven. MRS. DILBER (appalled) I'll try and get Mr. Marley to hold out 'till then, I'm sure. Much obliged. Good night to you. Oh, and a Merry Christmas, if it ain't out of keeping with the situation. BOB CRATCHIT Thank you, and the same to you. (The lights dim. Some time passes to somber music. Scrooge at last checks his pocket watch, shakes his head, then rises to leave the office. Cratchit helps him with his coat.) BOB CRATCHIT I hope you'll find Mr. Marley well, sir. PAST SCROOGE I should think that's highly unlikely. BOB CRATCHIT I suppose so, sir. It seems odd to think of the place without him, sir.

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PAST SCROOGE Why should it be any more odd than it was with him? We all have to die, Cratchit. (pause) I suppose you'll be wanting the whole day off, tomorrow, as usual? BOB CRATCHIT If quite convenient, sir. PAST SCROOGE Every Christmas you say the same thing. And every Christmas it's just as inconvenient as it was the Christmas before. Good night. BOB CRATCHIT Good night, sir. (Scrooge exits, leaving a chastened Bob Cratchit. The scene changes to Scrooges apartment. He enters to Mrs. Dilber and a gentleman dressed all in black.) PAST SCROOGE Who is that? The doctor? MRS. DILBER No, the undertaker. PAST SCROOGE (with a dry chuckle) You don't believe in letting the grass grow under your feet, do you? UNDERTAKER Ours is a very competitive business, sir. PAST SCROOGE Well, Jacob! They've seen to you properly, have they? Last rites and such? There's nothing I can do, hmm? (Marley gestures) Oh? What, particularly? MARLEY (rasping) While ... there's still time... PAST SCROOGE Time? Time for what, Jacob? MARLEY (rasping) We were wrong PAST SCROOGE Well, we can't be right all the time now, can we? Nobody's perfect. You mustn't berate yourself, Jacob. You've been no worse than the next man. Or better, if it comes to that.

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MARLEY Save ... yourself. PAST SCROOGE Save myself? Save myself from what? (Marley dies.) PAST SCROOGE Speak u (He pauses as he realizes Marley is dead. The Undertaker and Mrs. Dilber enter unbidden.) MRS. DILBER Is he dead? PAST SCROOGE Yes. MRS. DILBER (To the Undertaker) It's just as you said! UNDERTAKER I always know. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST One shadow more. SCROOGE No, no. I cannot bear it. (The Undertaker steps forward with a large ledger, which Past Scrooge signs in the presence of Mrs. Dilber.) GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Jacob Marley worked at your side for eighteen years. He was the only friend you ever had. But what did you feel when you signed the register of his burial and took his money, his house, and is few mean sticks of furniture? Did you feel a little pity for him? Look at your face, Ebenezer Scrooge, the face of a wretched, scraping, grasping, covetous old sinner. SCROOGE No, no, leave me, haunt me no longer

25 (Scrooge staggers to the centre apron, dropping to his knees with his face in his hands. The Spirit exits as the lights darken and then brighten again.Scrooge, suddenly aware he is back to his own room in the present, scrambles into bed muttering his last words, then there is silence, fade to black.)

26 Scene 5: The Ghost of Christmas Present (The clock strikes one on the dark stage. Lights up dimly on the bed, but there is no movement. The followspot reveals a robed figure in the audience. Silence.) GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT (powerfully) Arise, Ebenezer Scrooge. Look up, and know me better, man. (Scrooge peeks out from the curtained bed, and hastily pulls the curtains back again, recoiling in fear.) GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT (entering from the audience -- followspot) I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Look upon me. You have never seen the like of me before, have you? SCROOGE (parting the curtains to reveal just his head) Never. And I wish the pleasure had been indefinitely postponed. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT (gaining the stage) So? Is your heart still unmoved towards us then? SCROOGE (reluctantly stepping out of bed) I am too old. I am beyond hope. Go and redeem some younger, more promising creature and leave me to keep Christmas in my own way. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT (sharply) Mortal the spirit of Christmas does not live in men's hearts only one day of the year, but all the days of the year. You have chosen not to seek it in your heart, and therefore you will come with me to find it in the hearts of men of goodwill. (She extends a hand.) Come, touch my robe. (Scrooge does so, as she leads him to the apron, and the scene changes to a dark place where a few shadowy figures converge on a small fire. Music in background.) SCROOGE What is this place? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT A place where Miners live, who labour in the bowels of the earth. But they know me. (The notes of "O, Holy Night" are heard, followed by a chorus of miners singing. At the close of the song, they disperse, leaving Scrooge alone with the ghost. The lights change and the set reveals Bob Cratchit's small dining room. It is Christmas Day, and dinner preparations are underway.)

27 SCROOGE Why, this is Bob Cratchit's house. (Belinda Cratchit sees something out the window, and runs to her mother, Peter and Martha.) BELINDA He's coming Mother, Father's here with Tiny Tim! MRS. CRATCHIT Martha - you hide, and we'll pretend you've been held up and who knows when you'll be here! PETER Yes! Go on, hide Martha! MARTHA But where shall I hide? PETER Behind the scullery door, quickly, Martha! (She hides.) BOB CRATCHIT (to Mrs. Cratchit) A Merry Christmas, my dear! (Looking around) Why, where's our Martha? MRS. CRATCHIT Oh - she's not coming. . BOB CRATCHIT Not coming? (with surprise and disappointment) Not coming on Christmas Day? MARTHA CRATCHIT (after a pause) Here I am, father! (They embrace.) I couldn't bear to let them tease you. BOB CRATCHIT It would hardly be Christmas if they'd kept you late. TINY TIM Is the pudding still singing in the copper, Peter? PETER Yes, come and here it. You come too, Belinda. (They exit.)

28 MRS. CRATCHIT (to Bob) Sit yourself down and warm by the fire. How did little Tim behave in church? BOB CRATCHIT As good as gold, and better. Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see. He's growing strong and hardy, Martha, isn't he, my dear? (Mrs. Cratchit doesnt answer, but looks away.) SCROOGE Spirit, tell me if Tiny Tim will live? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT I see a vacant seat, in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child will die. SCROOGE No, no. Oh, no, kind Spirit. Say he will be spared. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT Why? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. (Scrooge recognizes his own words and hangs his head. The Cratchits have reassembled around the table. They say Grace, then begin their Christmas meal.) BOB CRATCHIT Before I give the toast, I have a piece of momentous information for all, and master Peter in particular! TINY TIM Master Peter? Why that's you, Peter! CRATCHITS What is it? Tell us what it is! BOB CRATCHIT I have my eye on a situation for him which, if it be obtained, will bring in full five and sixpence weekly! MARTHA You'll be quite the independent gentleman now, Peter!

29 MRS. CRATCHIT What next, I wonder? BOB CRATCHIT (rising) A toast, my dear! To our Merry Christmas! God bless us! CRATCHITS God bless us! TINY TIM God bless us, every one. BOB CRATCHIT (clearing his throat a little hesitantly) I give you Mr. Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast. MRS. CRATCHIT (sharply) The Founder of the Feast indeed! I wish I had him here. I'd give him a piece of my mind to feast upon, and I hope he'd have a good appetite for it. BOB CRATCHIT (patiently) My dear, the children. Christmas Day. MRS. CRATCHIT It should be Christmas Day, I am sure, on which one drinks the health of such an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man as Mr. Scrooge. You know he is, Robert. Nobody knows it better than you do, poor fellow. BOB CRATCHIT (gently pleading) My dear -- Christmas Day. MRS. CRATCHIT I'll drink his health for your sake and the Day's, not for his. Long life to him. A Merry Christmas and a happy new year. He'll be very merry and very happy, I have no doubt. SCROOGE Enough, Spirit. I know where my presence is not welcome. Take me away. (She holds out her hand, they cross the stage, and the scene changes to his nephew Fred's house. Lively music as Fred and his wife are holding a small Christmas party.) FRED (laughing) Ha, ha, ha! He said that Christmas was a humbug, as I live. He believed it too. FRED'S WIFE (indignantly) More shame for him, Fred.

30 FRED He's a comical old fellow, that's the truth: and not so pleasant as he might be. However, his offences carry their own punishment, and I have nothing to say against him. FRED'S WIFE I have no patience with him. FRED Oh, I have. Im sorry for him; I couldn't be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers most by his ill whims? Himself, always. He takes it into his head to dislike us, and he won't come and dine with us. What's the consequence? (Lightly, to his wife.) He's only cheated himself out of a highly indigestible dinner. FRED'S GUESTS (protesting) Oh, no, it was a wonderful dinner FRED (lightly) Well, I'm very glad to hear it, because I haven't great faith in these young housekeepers. What do you say, Topper? TOPPER Alas, as a wretched bachelor, I have no right to express an opinion on the subject (he turns to a female guest, taking her hand) .. have I, my dear, immovable Miss Flora? FLORA (coyly) Mr. Topper, really! FRED'S WIFE Honestly, Fred, I think you're being awfully charitable. FRED If that's so, it may be because my mother, God rest her saintly soul, was very fond of him. She loved him. (A pause, as Scrooge looks sadly on.) At any rate, he has given us plenty of merriment, and it would be ungrateful not to drink his health. So I say, "Uncle Scrooge!" FRED'S GUESTS Uncle Scrooge! FRED A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is. He wouldn't take it from me, but may he have it, nevertheless. SCROOGE (appreciatively) Fred ... my dear Fan's child ...

31 (He turns away to find the Ghost has moved to the apron, as the stage clears behind them.) GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT My time with you Ebenezer is almost done. Will you profit from the good I've shown you in most men's hearts? SCROOGE I don't know, how can I promise? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT If it be too hard a lesson to learn, then learn this lesson. (She points to the apron area stage left and right, where two ragged children sit.) SCROOGE Spirit -- are these yours? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT They are Man's. They cling to me for protection from their fetters. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. SCROOGE Have they no refuge or resource? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses? (The ghost exits repeating his last words, as do the children, leaving Scrooge alone and defeated on stage. The clock tolls again. Scrooge tries to flee but runs into the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.)

32 Scene 6: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come stands centre stage in a spotlight. Scrooge trembles and scrambles away from the hooded figure, who stands motionless, one arm outstretched and pointing an accusing finger at him.) SCROOGE I am in the presence of the Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come. (pause; the figure stops) You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen? (pause and silence) Spirit of the Future. I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But even in my fear I must tell you I am too old, I cannot change. It is not that I am impenitent, it's just. .. wouldn't it be better if I just went home, to bed? No? Lead me then. (The two gentlemen from scene two enter chatting.) GENTLEMAN #1 No, I don't know much about it, either way. I only know he's dead. GENTLEMAN #2 When did he die? GENTLEMAN #1 Last night, I believe. GENTLEMAN #2 Why, what was the matter with him? I thought he'd never die. GENTLEMAN #1 God knows. GENTLEMAN #2 What has he done with his money? GENTLEMAN #1 I haven't heard. Left it to his company, perhaps. He hasn't left it to me. That's all I know. GENTLEMAN #2 It's likely to be a very cheap funeral; for upon my life I don't know of anybody to go to it. GENTLEMAN #1 I don't mind going if a lunch is provided. But I must be fed, or I stay home. SCROOGE Spirit, I know those men. Of whose death can they speak so coldly?

33

(The Spirit stays silent, and moves slowly across the stage, Scrooge following, as another scene emerges, this set in a run-down, dingy section of the city. It's a tenement more than a business, a third-rate pawn shop. An old man sits among the junk, as first one woman, then another enter, both carrying bundles. They are closely followed by a man in faded black. They stop, recognize each other, then burst into creepy laughter.) MRS. DILBER Look here, old Joe, here's a chance. If we haven't all three met here without meaning it. Let the charwoman alone to be the first. Let the laundress alone to be the second; and let the undertaker's man alone to be the third. OLD JOE (removing his pipe from his mouth) You couldn't have met in a better place. Come into the parlour. You were made free of it long ago, you know; and the other two ain't strangers. (He laughs a hoarse laugh.) We're all suitable to our calling, we're well matched. MRS. DILBER What odds then. What odds? Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did. LAUNDRESS That's true, indeed. No man more so. MRS. DILBER Why then, don't stand staring as if you was afraid, woman; who's the wiser? We're not going to pick holes in each other's coats, I suppose. LAUNDRESS No, indeed. UNDERTAKER I should hope not. MRS. DILBER Very well, then. That's enough. Who's the worse for the loss of a few things like these? Not a dead man, I suppose. LAUNDRESS No, indeed. MRS. DILBER If he wanted to keep them after he was dead, the wicked old screw, why wasn't he natural in his lifetime? If he had been, he'd have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by himself.

34 UNDERTAKER It's the truest word that ever was spoke. It's a judgment on him. MRS. DILBER I wish it was a little heavier judgment. And it should have been, you may depend upon it, if I could have laid my hands on anything else. Open that bundle, old Joe, and let me know the value of it. Speak out plain. I'm not afraid to be the first, nor afraid for them to see it. We know pretty well that we were helping ourselves, before we met here, I believe. It's no sin. Open the bundle, Joe. UNDERTAKER I'll go first. Just to show we've all got trust in one another. (He reads from a notebook as Joe looks into his bag, producing objects.) Watch, fob, seal, pencil-case, sleeve buttons, and brooch. OLD JOE Eight shillings, that's your account, and I wouldn't give you another sixpence, if I was to be boiled for not doing it. Who's next? LAUNDRESS I'll go. Sheets and towels, two old-fashioned silver teaspoons, a pair of sugar-tongs, and a pair of boots. OLD JOE Seventeen and six. I always give too much to ladies. It's a weakness of mine, and that's the way I ruin myself. That's your account. If you ask me for another penny, and made it an open question, I'd repent of being so liberal and knock off half-a-crown. MRS. DILBER And now undo my bundle, Joe. OLD JOE (holding up some fabric) What do you call this? MRS.DILBER (laughing) Ah! Bed-curtains. OLDJOE You don't mean to say you took them down, rings and all, with him lying there?

35

MRS. DILBER Yes I do. Why not? OLD JOE You were born to make your fortune and you'll certainly do it. (He continues to pull items from her bag.) MRS. DILBER I certainly shan't hold my hand, when I can get anything in it by reaching it out, for the sake of such a man as he was, I promise you, Joe. Mind those blankets, now. OLD JOE His blankets? MRS. DILBER Whose else's do you think? He isn't likely to take cold without them, I dare say. OLD JOE (suddenly fearful) I hope he didn't die of anything catching. MRS. DILBER Don't you be afraid of that. I ain't so fond of his company that I'd loiter about him for such things, if he did. Ah. You may look through that shirt till your eyes ache; but you won't find a hole in it, nor a threadbare place. It's the best he had, and a fine one too. They'd have wasted it, if it hadn't been for me. OLD JOE Wasted it? MRS. DILBER (with a laugh) Putting it on him to be buried in, to be sure. Somebody was fool enough to do it, but I took it off again. If calico ain't good enough for such a purpose, it isn't good enough for anything. It's quite as becoming to the body. He can't look uglier than he did in that one. UNDERTAKER This is the end of it, you see. He frightened every one away from him when he was alive, to profit us when he was dead. (They all cackle.) SCROOGE (turning away in horror and despair, but not recognizing they speak of him) Spirit. I see, I see. The case of this unhappy man might be my own. My life tends that way, now. Spirit, this is a fearful place. In leaving it, I shall not leave its lesson, trust me. Let us go. If there is any person in the town who feels emotion caused by this man's

36 death, show that person to me, Spirit, I beseech you. (Silence still.) Then let me see some tenderness connected with a death, or that dark chamber, Spirit, which we left just now, will be forever present to me. (Behind them the scene has revealed the Cratchit house.) PETER CRATCHIT (reading from the Bible) 'And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them. And when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me (he stops reading as Mrs. Cratchit puts a hand to her eyes.) Shall I stop now, mother? MRS. CRATCHIT No, it's only that this colour hurts my eyes. They're better now again. It makes them weak by candle-light; and I wouldn't show weak eyes to your father when he comes home, for the world. (Pause.) It must be near his time. PETER CRATCHIT Past it rather; But I think he has walked a little slower these few last evenings, mother. MRS. CRATCHIT I have known him walk with Tiny Tim upon his shoulder, very fast indeed. PETER CRATCHIT And so have I. Often. BELINDA CRATCHIT And so have I. MRS. CRATCHIT (intent upon her work) But he was very light to carry, and his father loved him so, that it was no trouble: no trouble. (Bob Cratchit enters wearily.) BOB CRATCHIT I am a little late, my dear, please forgive me. MRS. CRATCHIT You must be cold and tired - sit near the fire. BOB CRATCHIT (reflective) No, no my dear, I'm quite content. I went to see the place where he will rest. It's surrounded by green trees, my dear, and very quiet and still. It was strange, but as I stood there I felt his hand slip in mine as if he was standing beside me and comforting me. I felt very peaceful, my dear. He was telling me, you see, in his own little way, that

37 he's happy. Truly happy now, and that we must cease to grieve for him and try to be happy too. (He cannot hold back.) Oh, Tim, my tiny Tim! (Scrooge moves forward as if to console Bob, but hesitates, and turns to see the Spirit moving away.) SCROOGE Spirit, is there no pity in you? Must these things be as they are shown to me? What is my role in this spectacle? Speak to me! (The Spirit waves a hand slowly as the scene dissolves to a graveyard, shrouded in gloomy mist. The Spirit moves slowly to one grave, and points to it.) SCROOGE Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point, answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that must be, or are they only shadows of things that might be? (Pause) Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead. But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is so with what you show me! (The Spirit is silent, and Scrooge approaches the grave, dusts it off, and reads his own name, aloud.) SCROOGE (upon his knees, reading the stone) 'Ebenezer Scrooge!' No, Spirit. Oh no, no. (A pause; clutching at its robe) Spirit, hear me. Tell me I'm not already dead! I am not the man I was. Why show me this, if I am past all hope? (Pause.) Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone if I repent, and I do repent, please, Spirit. .. Ill make good the wrongs I've done, I'll change ...I am not the man I was ... I am not the man I was ... (The Spirit pulls away, leaving Scrooge sobbing. Lights close on Scrooge, music fades. Silence.)

38

Scene 7: Christmas Day (Scrooge lies centre stage, muttering "I'm not the man I was ... " etc. as lights come up on his bedroom, revealing him clinging to the bedpost. He slowly realizes he is back, with rising joy at his discovery. He rises and staggers left and right, unsure of himself. Mrs. Dilber enters with tea and breakfast.) MRS. DILBER (sourly) Good morning, sir. . SCROOGE Good morning ... yes ... good morning. What's today? MRS. DILBER (incredulous) Today? Why it's Christmas day, of course, sir. SCROOGE It's Christmas Day! It's Christmas Day! I haven't missed it! The Spirits have done it all in one night. And why not? They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can! MRS. DILBER (stunned) Are you quite yourself, sir? SCROOGE What? No I don't know ... I hope not! (He runs past her towards the bed.) The curtains are still here! You didn't tear them down and sell them. They're still here, everything's still here! I'm here! And the shadows of things that could be may still be dispelled. And they will be! I know they will be! (laughing and crying in the same breath) I don't know what to do. I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world! (He tries to hug her but she escapes, screaming and running away to the far side of the stage in shock. Scrooge ignores her.) SCROOGE There's the door, where the Ghost of Jacob Marley entered. There's where the Ghost of Christmas Present stood. There's the window where I saw the wandering Spirits. It's all right, it's all true, it all happened. (He laughs.) I don't know what day of the month it is. I don't know how long I've been among the Spirits. I don't know anything. I never did know anything. (He raises his nightshirt over his head. Mrs. Dilber screams and tries to run away. He catches her before she leaves, and tries to calm her down.)

39

SCROOGE My dear Mrs. Dilber! I am not mad ... even if I look it! (He reaches into his pocket and puts a coin in her hand.) MRS.DILBER A guinea? For me? What for? SCROOGE I'll give you a guess! MRS.DILBER (pause) To keep my mouth shut? SCROOGE (laughing at her joke) No, no, no Mrs. Dilber. It's for a Christmas present. MRS. DILBER (shocked and touched) A Christmas present? For me? SCROOGE Of course for you. A merry, merry Christmas, my dear Mrs. Dilber. Oh - how much do I pay you? MRS. DILBER Two shillings a week. SCROOGE Two shillings a week? I must raise it to ten. MRS. DILBER Ten shillings a week? You're sure you don't want to see a doctor? SCROOGE A doctor? Certainly not. Nor the undertaker. Now off you go and enjoy yourself! MRS. DILBER Bob's your uncle! Merry Christmas Mr. Scrooge! In keeping with the situation! (Sfx: Christmas bells ringing. Scrooge runs to the apron overlooking the audience.) SCROOGE Christmas bells! Those glorious bells! It's a beautiful morning! (He spots a boy in the street, followspot.) Hello there! You, yes, you my boy!

40

FINE LAD Who, me? SCROOGE Do you know the Poulterer's, in the next street at the corner? FINE LAD I should hope I did. SCROOGE An intelligent boy. A remarkable boy. Do you know whether they've sold the prize Turkey that was hanging up there? The big one? FINE LAD What, the one as big as me? SCROOGE What a delightful boy. It's a pleasure to talk to him. Yes, my boy! FINE LAD It's hanging there now. SCROOGE Is it? Go and buy it. FINE LAD (thinking he's crazy) Both-er! SCROOGE No, no, I am in earnest. Go and buy it, and tell them to bring it here, that I may give them direction where to take it. Come back with the man, and I'll give you a shilling. Come back with him in less than five minutes and I'll give you half-a-crown! SCROOGE I'll send it to Bob Cratchit's. He shan't know who sends it. It's twice the size of Tiny Tim. (noticing his night clothes) But I must dress. (He grabs his cane, pauses, then sets it down again.) I have so much to do, and without delay! (Scrooge exits laughing; the scene changes to Bob Cratchit's, where all the Cratchits stare at the huge turkey.) BOB CRATCHIT (reading the label in disbelief) 'Mr. Robert Cratchit, Two Porter Street, Camden Town.'

41

MRS. CRATCHIT (peering at the label) It's addressed to you all right, Robert. But there's no sender on the label. Who in the world could have done such a thing? TINY TIM I know. CRATCHIT CHILDREN Who? TINY TIM Mr. Scrooge! MRS. CRATCHIT Oh, my dear child ... whatever made you think it might be him? TINY TIM I don't know, I just think it. BOB CRATCHIT Mr. Scrooge! Whatever could have made him take leave of his senses suddenly? TINY TIM Christmas! (The scene changes back to the street. Scrooge enters hastily, well dressed now, and wishing all in the street a Merry Christmas as he passes, to their amazement. He spots and catches up with the two charity gentlemen.) SCROOGE My dear sirs! How do you do? I hope you succeeded yesterday. It was very kind of you. A merry Christmas to you both! GENTLEMAN #1 & #2 (amazed) Mr. Scrooge! SCROOGE Yes. That is my name, and I fear it may not be pleasant to you. Allow me to ask your pardon. And will you have the goodness ... (Here Scrooge whispers in the ear of Gentleman #1). GENTLEMAN #1 (astounded) Lord bless me!

42 (He in turn whispers to Gentleman #2) GENTLEMAN #2 My dear Mr. Scrooge, are you serious? SCROOGE If you please. Not a farthing less. A great many back-payments are included in it, I assure you. Will you do me that favour? GENTLEMAN #2 My dear sir. I don't know what to say to such generosity. SCROOGE Don't say anything please. Come and see me. Will you come and see me? GENTLEMAN #1 We will. SCROOGE Thank you. I am much obliged to you. I thank you fifty times. Bless you! (Scrooge continues on his way, stopping before the doors of Freds house. He hesitates, then knocks abruptly. Freds maid answers the door.) SCROOGE (politely) Is your master at home, my dear? FREDS MAID Yes, sir. I'll show you up-stairs, if you please. SCROOGE I thank you, my dear, but Ill just go in here, he knows me. (Music. Scrooge exits. The stage reveals Freds living room, where Fred and his guests sit. They dont notice his entrance. When Fred's wife sees him, she gasps.) SCROOGE (hesitantly) Fred? FRED'S WIFE Oh my, Fred, its SCROOGE It is I. Your uncle Scrooge. I have come to dinner. Will you let me in, Fred?

43

FRED Let you in? Why, uncle, how good of you to join us at long last! A Merry Christmas to you! (To his wife.) My dear, look who it is! SCROOGE (going to her) Can you forgive an old fool, for having no eyes to see with, no ears to hear with, all these years? FRED'S WIFE Bless you, dear uncle! You've made Fred so very happy! Merry Christmas! FRED Some music to celebrate! (The guests begin singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." Applause and well wishes and the lights fade at close, to reveal Scrooge and Marley's office, the next morning, Scrooge hurrying to be first in. He sits impatiently, playing happily with his cane, humming at his desk, until Cratchit tries to sneak in late. Then hes abruptly all business.) SCROOGE (faking contempt) Cratchit! What do you mean by coming here at this time of day? BOB CRATCHIT I am very sorry, sir. I am behind my time. SCROOGE You are. Yes. I think you are. Step this way, sir, if you please. BOB CRATCHIT It's only once a year, sir. It shall not be repeated. I was making rather merry yesterday, sir. SCROOGE (advancing on Cratchit) Im sure you were. Now, I'll tell you what, my friend, I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer. Which leaves me no alternative (a dreadful pause) but to raise your salary. (Cratchit looks confused as Scrooge bursts into laughter, falling back into his chair. When he notices Cratchit gaping, he invites him to sit by him.) SCROOGE I haven't taken leave of my senses, Bob, I've come to them. From now on, I want to help you raise that family of yours -- if you'll let me? (pause) Well, we'll talk it over later, Bob, over a bowl of hot punch. Meanwhile, you just put some more coal on that fire, and

44 you go straight out and buy another coal-scuttle. And you do that before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit! (Cratchit exits happily.) SCROOGE I don't deserve to be so happy. (pause) But I can't help it. (laughing) I just can't help it! (Lights dim. Scrooge moves downstage. Music in background. The narrator is revealed centre balcony.) NARRATOR Scrooge was better than his word. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. (Cratchit re-enters, with a stronger Tiny Tim who goes to greet Scrooge.) And to Tiny Tim, who lived and got well again, he became a second father. And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed TINY TIM God bless us, every one! (Curtain, and curtain call to Joy to the World.)

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