IT may not be classic panto, but the festive season wouldn't be the same without A Christmas Carol.

That's what Worcester's Swan Theatre is laying on for audiences in a production bringing to life Charles Dickens' Victorian London.

Philip Monks, who adapted the script for The Swan, said: "Dickens wrote five Christmas books, including The Chimes and The Cricket on the Heath, but A Christmas Carol, which was the first, has easily proved to be the most enduring and popular of all. In fact, some people credit it with helping revive the festival of Christmas itself.

"It is a ghost story, yet firmly rooted in Victorian London, a moral tale, yet a thrill-a-minute narrative."

The production is directed by Jenny Stephens and stars Neil Salvage as Scrooge and Jeffrey Harmer as Bob Cratchit .

Tickets are available from the box office on 01905 27322.