A Christmas Carol provides a message of hope for today

The now annual performance of Charles Dickens' play, a Christmas Carol, at the Old Vic, is one not to be missed. This year, Christopher Eccleston stars as Scrooge in an energetic production, that resonates so strongly in today's world. The Scrooge character has stored away all his wealth, unwilling to even give to charity at Christmas. When asked to donate, he responds saying there are prisons and workhouses for the poor. Scrooge idealises money, luxuriating in the power it gives him. The love of money, though, leaves him a very lonely man. It is only after visitations from the ghosts of Christmas, past, present and future that he mends his ways. The transformation sees the emergence of a much loved generous man, playing a full part in the community. Dickens' play has endured well down the years since it was written in 1843. It is as applicable today, as it was in those Victorian days. The love of money is writ large across our society today. Almost, everything seems to be evaluated as to what it cost. Christmas itself has become incredibly commercialised, a bumper season for retail, but what about the true meaning of Christmas? The coming together, in community? A Christmas Carol draws attention to the polarisation of wealth in society. The class of Scrooge, profiting from other people's debts, while the mass of people struggle by. The Scrooge's of today are the billionaires and large companies who don't pay their taxes, preferring that people get by on the charity of foodbanks. The idea of deserving and undeserving poor was rampant in Victorian England, with the workhouse always awaiting those who fell on hard times. Today, society is moving back in that direction. Rights to welfare support are being rolled back. Recipients of benefits are readily punished, should they fail to jump through every hoop. The welfare safety net is being removed. So, the society revealed in a Christmas Carol is not that far away from our own today. The play though offers hope. Scrooge goes on a journey of redemption, finding fulfilment in his new found generous disposition. He saves himself and many of those around him. The message of the play is that we can all change for the better and with that change transform the society around us. It is a message of hope that can be applied as much today as back in Victorian times. * A Christmas Carol runs at the Old Vic until 6 January.