Reading Rep joins forces with Ramps on the Moon for A Christmas Carol
This Christmas, we’re working with Ramps on the Moon to make our biggest production of the year more welcoming, creative and accessible from the very beginning.
We’re delighted to announce that our brand-new production of A Christmas Carol will be a co-production between Reading Rep Theatre and Ramps on the Moon.
Ramps on the Moon works with theatres across the country to help remove barriers faced by disabled artists and audiences. Over the past year, they’ve been working closely with the Reading Rep team, looking at everything from how we create our shows to how we can make our theatre a more welcoming place for everyone.
This Christmas, we’re putting that work into practice on stage.
Rather than creating A Christmas Carol first and thinking about accessibility afterwards, it will be part of the production from the very beginning.
That means exploring how things like British Sign Language, captions and audio description can become part of the storytelling itself – helping us find new and exciting ways to bring Dickens’ much-loved story to life.
Making a better show for everyone
For us, this isn’t just about making it easier for more people to experience the production. Working differently can also unlock completely new creative ideas.
Paul Stacey MBE, Artistic Director of Reading Rep, said: “Anyone who comes through our doors should feel like this theatre is for them. As a disabled practitioner myself, that has always been incredibly important to me. A Christmas Carol felt like exactly the right production to put everything we’ve been learning into practice. It’s our biggest show of the year, and I can’t wait to see where this collaboration takes us.”
Stacey and Reading Rep Executive Director Nick Thompson have spent the past year working with Michèle Taylor MBE, Director for Change at Ramps on the Moon, and her team.
That work has encouraged us to look honestly at where barriers still exist and, most importantly, what we can do differently.
Michèle said “A Christmas Carol is incredibly exciting and the result of the work we’ve been doing together over the past 12 months. What is fantastic about Reading Rep is their commitment to learn, question, lead, share and make change happen.”
A Christmas classic, made differently
Adapted and directed by Paul Stacey, our new A Christmas Carol will combine actor-musicians, puppetry and cinematic storytelling, transforming Reading Rep for Christmas and bringing audiences right into the heart of Scrooge’s story.
At its heart, this partnership is about something very simple: making brilliant theatre that more people can be part of.
We’re excited to keep learning, experimenting and discovering what that looks like – and we can’t wait for audiences to experience the result.
A Christmas Carol runs at Reading Rep Theatre from 21 November 2026 – 3 January 2027.
Find out more about Ramps on the Moon at rampsonthemoon.co.uk