Didcot Railway Centre hosted its first ever evening event with Gerald Dickens’s one-man performance of A Christmas Carol, written by his great great grandfather Charles Dickens.

The performance, held last Thursday evening (December 14) in the Transfer Shed, is also currently serving as Santa’s Grotto for the centre's 'Steam into Christmas' dates throughout the month.

An apt location for the performance, the building dates from the Dickens era in the early 1860s. It houses replica broad gauge trains from the 1840s, which provided a backdrop for the performance. 

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A member of the audience said: “We were lucky enough to be two of the 50 at the show. It was a wonderful evening, a superb performance of a classic story in a beautifully atmospheric setting.”

In Gerald Dickens's blog of the evening, he said: “The audience were not a demonstrative group, huddling in their woolly coats and hats, under rugs, but oh my, were they attentive and focused. They were a joy to perform for, and the applause at the end was wonderful.”

Gathering in the railway centre’s refreshment room before the performance, members of the audience enjoyed mulled wine and mince pies.

They were then taken by train for the short ride to the Transfer Shed. During the interval the train brought them back for more warming mulled wine before returning for the rest of the performance.