Game of Thrones’ Owen Teale to play Scrooge in A Christmas Carol’s 2023 Melbourne season

GWB Entertainment has announced Tony Award® winner and international screen star, Owen Teale will play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the triumphant return season of A Christmas Carol. Teale previously starred in the role of Scrooge to great acclaim in The Old Vic’s 2022 London production.

Torben Brookman, executive producer of A Christmas Carol said, “We are so delighted to welcome Owen Teale back to Australia to lead the 2023 Melbourne production of A Christmas Carol. Owen [Teale] is such an outstanding actor and we are so thrilled to provide Australian audiences with the opportunity to see him on stage alongside the incredible Australian company.” 

Best known for his recurring role of Alliser Thorne in HBO’s epic fantasy Game of Thrones, Teale currently appears in the BBC detective thriller Wolf, and has starred in comedy-drama series Stella and police drama Line of Duty. Other screen credits include The Rig, The Pembrokeshire Murders, Spooks, Doctor Who, Robin Hood, Tolkien, The Last Legion and King Arthur. 

A Christmas Carol will mark Teale’s first time on an Australian stage since the 2004 tour of the West End production Dance of Death. His recent international stage credits include A Doll’s House (West End/Broadway) for which he won a Tony Award® for Best Featured Actor in a Play, No Man’s Land (West End) and King Lear (RSC). 

Teale commented, “I’ve never been happier to be getting on a plane brimful with humbug knowing that Melbourne is to knock it out of me every night in this great piece of theatre. Jack Thorne, Matthew Warchus, Rob Howell and Chris Nightingale have adapted Charles Dickens’ legendary tale into something greater than the sum of its parts. It gets into people’s hearts and minds and changes them – it’s theatre at its best. Come and be part of it.”

Teale will star alongside Debra Lawrance (Fisk) as Ghost of Christmas Past, Bernard Curry (Wentworth) as Bob Cratchit, Grant Piro (Death of a Salesman) as Fezziwig, Sarah Morrison (Come From Away), Samantha Morley (Girl from the North Country), Anthony Harkin (Marley), Andrew Coshan (The Phantom of the Opera) as Fred and Stephanie Lambourn as Mrs Cratchit, Aisha Aidara (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as Little Fan, Deirdre Khoo (The Rocky Horror Show) as Jess and Kaya Byrne(Come From Away)as Nicholasin the smash hit production of Charles Dickens’ immortal classic. 

A Christmas Carol will play at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from 12 November 2023.

Winner of five Tony Awards®, The Old Vic production of A Christmas Carol has delighted audiences and critics alike over seven seasons after premiering in 2017, and in its debut season in Melbourne in 2022. From the writer of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and the director of Matilda The Musical, it is a magical interpretation of Charles Dickens’ timeless story.

To date, 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), Campbell Scott (The Amazing Spider-Man), Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), Francois Battiste (Person of Interest) and Australian star David Wenham. 

A rallying cry for social compassion, and an extraordinary tale of redemption and hope, Dickens’ 1843 novella tells the story of a cruel and cold-hearted businessman, Ebenezer Scrooge, who locks himself away from life – especially at Christmas. In a supernatural intervention, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, forced to confront the error of his ways and offered one final chance to change for the better before it’s too late.

Conceived and directed by Tony Award® winner Matthew Warchus, this production is brought to life with scenic and costume design by Tony Award® winner Rob Howell, music and arrangements by Tony Award® winner Christopher Nightingale, lighting design by Tony Award® winner Hugh Vanstone, sound design by Tony Award® winner Simon Baker, movement by Lizzi Gee, and includes 12 cherished Christmas carols including ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Silent Night’. The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol will again fill the Comedy Theatre to the brim with magical music and merriment. 

With an international tradition of raising money for local charities, this production of A Christmas Carol is happy to announce that FareShare will be the Melbourne charity partner for 2023. FareShare has been cooking free, nutritious meals for people doing it tough since 2001, with the belief that every Australian deserves a nutritious meal, regardless of their circumstances or location.

A Christmas Carol will be at Comedy Theatre from 12 November – 31 December. Tickets are from $49.50, and available at christmascarolaustralia.com.au