A Rhyming Christmas Carol

A 45-minute rhyming verse Christmas production for KS2 primary schools, with digital backdrops

  • The Nativity Story is a familiar end-of-term play for KS1 children and A Rhyming Christmas Carol now offers something similar for KS2, either for an end-of-term performance or for study in class.

    A Rhyming Christmas Carol is about the difference one person can make when they choose to be kind, as well as being great fun to practise and perform. By acting it out, children live that message rather than just hear it, thinking through empathy, character and the small kindnesses that change how a story ends.

    It is written in rhyming verse, which children find easier to learn than prose, so rehearsals run more smoothly and build confidence rather than panic, especially for children with SEND or EAL.

    There are no songs to learn, though you can add familiar carols very easily if you like.

  • Our Play-in-a-Box® package is ready to run. A class teacher with no drama experience can stage it with very little preparation, because the script, the backdrops and the staging guide are all designed to work together. There is nothing to build and nothing to assemble, so it looks polished in front of parents without taking over your term.

    It provides speaking roles for up to 20 Narrators plus 19 named character parts. Roles can be combined, or a single narrator can carry the story, for a smaller class.

    The props are few and everyday: a desk and chairs, a black cloak (or dark sheet) for the Ghost of Christmas Future and a broom handle for Tiny Tim's crutch. Every child has a part. Beyond the speaking roles, the Ensemble brings the sound effects, dancing and crowd scenes to life, and there are jobs offstage too, so no one is left out.

ACT I: THE MISER OF LONDON

SCENE 1: SCROOGE'S OFFICE

AT RISE: Two men are working at their desks using quill pens. It is dark outside with snow falling. Ensemble performs a rhythmic "scratching" sound using sandpaper to establish the office atmosphere.

NARRATOR 1

Long ago in London town,
cold winter winds were blowing.
There sat two men,
each held a pen,
while outside it was snowing.

Scrooge and Marley said the sign,
that hung out in the street,
inside the cold,
had taken hold,
the fire gave little heat.

BOB CRATCHIT

Please Mr Scrooge, can I add coal?
The fire has nearly died.

SCROOGE

No need for heat.
Just stamp your feet.
You'll soon feel warm inside.

A peek at the backdrops

The backdrops come as ready-made PowerPoint shows in a warm storybook style, in both 16:9 widescreen and 4:3 standard shapes, and in still and gently animated versions. You run whichever suits your screen, tapping through it like a slideshow, with a soft fade to black at each scene change.

  • Storybook scene of Scrooge's dusk-lit office on Christmas Eve, with packed bookshelves and a snowy church beyond the window. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    Scrooge's office, Christmas Eve

    The counting house at dusk, cold and candle-lit, where the story begins.

  • Storybook scene of Scrooge's dim bedroom at midnight, with a curtained bed and fading firelight. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    Scrooge's bedroom

    Midnight in Scrooge's bedroom, where Marley's ghost arrives to warn him.

  • Storybook scene of a frosty park with bare trees under a pale winter sky. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    The cold park

    A quiet, snow-covered hill from long ago, where the Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge.

  • Storybook scene of a still churchyard in daylight, with a spreading yew tree and weathered headstones. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    A graveyard

    A still churchyard in daylight, where the Ghost of Christmas Future shows Scrooge what may come.

  • Warm storybook scene of Scrooge's bedroom on Christmas morning, bright with daylight, with a four-poster bed and a sunlit window. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    Scrooge's bedroom, Christmas morning

    Scrooge's sun-filled bedroom on Christmas morning, where he wakes a changed man.

  • Storybook scene of a snowy Victorian street on Christmas morning, bright with shops and passers-by. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    A London street

    A snowy Victorian street on Christmas morning, with the shop where Scrooge buys the prize turkey.

  • Warm storybook scene of a festive Victorian parlour lit by firelight and lamplight, with a harp and a snowy bay window. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    The Christmas party

    A warm family parlour, decked out and glowing on Christmas Day.

  • Warm storybook scene of the Cratchit family's brighter parlour the following Christmas, with a garlanded mantel and a dresser of blue and white plates. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    Cratchit's parlour, a year later

    The Cratchit family's home a year on, brighter and warmer now that better days have come.

  • Storybook scene of a quiet snowy Victorian London street, with a bare tree and a gas lamp beside terraced houses. A projected stage backdrop for a school production of A Christmas Carol.

    A quiet street corner, a year later

    A snow-covered corner of London, where the story ends happily ever after.

What's in every pack

Every A Rhyming Christmas Carol pack comes with ready-made posters, an editable programme and social share graphics, all in the same warm storybook style.

Audition and promotional posters

A Rhyming Christmas Carol audition poster
Audition poster
A Rhyming Christmas Carol promotional poster
Promotional poster

Editable programme

A Rhyming Christmas Carol programme, cover and back
Cover and back
A Rhyming Christmas Carol programme, inside pages
Inside

Social share graphics

A Rhyming Christmas Carol social graphic, portrait
Instagram portrait
A Rhyming Christmas Carol social graphic, square
Square
A Rhyming Christmas Carol social graphic, story
Story
A Rhyming Christmas Carol social graphic, Facebook
Facebook

The Founding Pilot Programme

  • We are offering a small number of UK primary schools the complete Play-in-a-Box production package for A Rhyming Christmas Carol, free of charge, as Founding Pilots for autumn term 2026. We are focusing on the UK for now, but if you are in the United States or elsewhere and would like to take part, please do get in touch. We would be glad to hear from you and to find a way that works.

What we ask in return

  • In return for the free pilot package, we'd really appreciate feedback from the relevant teacher on how the play is received in your school. We'd also welcome a photo of one or more of the backdrops in your school setting, be that a classroom or a school hall (no children in that image, of course).

  • Schools that join the pilot accept a short Founding Pilot Agreement. We'll send the details when you get in touch.

The aim of the pilot

  • We'd like to validate that children find the play as much fun as we think they will and that teachers find it a delight. If this might interest your school, get in touch.

Free downloads

A few things to explore. All free and with no sign-up. Have a read, and project the sample backdrop in your own hall to see exactly how it looks on your screen and in your lighting.

Sample script Sample backdrop Curriculum Impact Brief (UK) Curriculum Impact Brief (US)

Everything opens in a new tab. The script and briefs are PDFs with a download button built in, and to save the backdrop just right-click and choose "Save image as" (or press and hold on a phone).

Who we are

  • We are a husband and wife team based in Devon, UK. Natalie is an ex-BBC designer, creating the imagery, staging and performance guides, while Jeff is an ex-teacher with a flair for writing rhyming dialogue. You can find out more about us on our About page.

  • We have teamed up with Heidi Pyburn, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) Coach and Examiner, Director of Devon Young People's Theatre, to bring this to schools. Heidi is also available to run (paid) drama workshops on this or other subjects. You can find Heidi at dyptheatre.com