By Lorraine Gibson.

IT IS 1843, and with Christmas looming Mr Dickens is about to publish his latest instalment of the cautionary yuletide tale.
Meanwhile, Mr Scrooge is at his desk, working desperately to tell his side of the story.
This is the premise of The Scrooge Diaries, an innovative one-man show that aims to put the record straight on the truth behind A Christmas Carol.

In three exclusive performances, Ebeneezer Scrooge opens his diary to expose the awful truth about Tiny Tim, the Fezziwigs, Jacob Marley and the disgustingly jolly, gluttonous, consumer-driven Ghost of Christmas Present, as he calls out Dickens – the ‘vengeful, slanderous, upstart author’ of said novel.
At the suggestion that Marley was dead to begin with, Scrooge retorts: “Humbug, Mr.Dickens! Dead? As sure as the clothes moths in my wardrobe have beshredded my best nightcap, Marley was not dead but rather sitting on some sun-soaked, offshore beach squandering all the hard-earned money that he had so fraudulently embezzled from my firm over the years!
“You know nothing Mr Dickens! You are a fraud sir – an embezzler of the truth! A fake news-smith! A charlatan… Charlatan Dickens! Bah! …” And so it goes.
Actor Peter Macqueen of PMac Productions will perform The Scrooge Diaries – billed as a ‘fantastically festive and revelatory show’ – to three Dorset communities through Artsreach, the touring arts charity.
Performances are on Friday December 16 at Martinstown Village Hall, from 7.30pm (01305 889738), Saturday 17 at Hinton Martell Village Hall (01258 840066) and Sunday 18 from 4pm at Studland Village Hall (01929 450587).
For more details, video trailers and tickets visit www.artsreach.co.uk.