A Christmas Carol, York Guildhall, December 22 to January 4

After pub performances in snug rooms in past winters at The Lamb and Lion in High Petergate and The Gillygate in Gillygate, the York company's fourth such interactive production will take up residence in Meeting Room One in the York Guildhall.

"It's a beautifully wood panelled, room, with perfect acoustics, and is of a similar size to the room we had at The Gillygate with a capacity of 25," says director Tom Bellerby.

"The Gillygate will still be providing the wonderful food and drink, and for landlord Brian Furey to say 'yes' to bringing the food here at his busiest time of year is fantastic."

The Flanagan Collective, an associate company of York Theatre Royal, first staged a production in the York Guildhall this summer, when performing Alexander Wright's Sherlock Holmes: A Working Hypothesis in the council chamber.

"We worked very closely with the Guildhall for the Sherlock show in August and September, when we had a lovely time and developed a very good relationship with them," says Alexander. "As part of The Gillygate is now being done up, we've now found a room at the Guildhall to use that remarkably few people will ever have been in."

Drawing on elements of Charles Dickens's tale, Wright's "lovingly bastardised" two-man show places the audience at the heart of the story and is told over platters of hearty fare, warming mulled wine and a sprinkling of mince pies and party games.

Returning to the Flanagan Collective for a third winter after a summer on water and land with Mikron Theatre, York actor John Holt Roberts will be playing ghostly host Jacob Marley opposite his third Ebenezer Scrooge. After Ed Wren and Hayden Wood, Sprite Productions stalwart Al Barclay takes up the mantle of the much-maligned miserable miser in this actor-musician production.

"Al is an actor I've always enjoyed working with; this is my third time, and when it came to Sherlock Holmes, Al was on my list of people it would have been interesting to have cast, but he was in the USA touring with Much Ado About Nothing, playing Don Pedro," says Tom, delighted that he can now bank Barclay's skills again.

"One of the things about this show is that it requires actors who are brilliant at finding the truth in the text, but they also have to relate to the audience and interact with them in a way that's really meaningful. It's that thing of being able to use what an audience gives them, and both Al and John can do that."

Al has not seen previous Flanagan Collective versions of A Christmas Carol.

"I don't like to do that anyway because you have to discover it for yourself," he says. For John, working with Al is a new experience too. "I'd never met Al until now," he says.

"Yes, John makes a rule never to work with someone again," interjects Al.

John takes the slur in his stride. "Working with a different Scrooge each time means it changes every time because the relationship is different and each actor gives you different things to work off, so it becomes a different journey every time," he says.

Crucial to Wright's distinctive adaptation is the second act, ostensibly a working supper where the audience shares a meal and sings songs with Scrooge and Marley. "Without that section, the piece wouldn't make sense," says Tom. "That's why the piece feels unique, because it feels essential that the audience eats with Scrooge or otherwise Scrooge won't change."

Has Alexander Wright changed his script at any stage? "There was one big change," he says. "The ending I wrote was that Marley comes back in, strips off to a leotard and sings Candi Staton'sYoung Hearts Run Free, but no, the words have pretty much stayed the same, and yet the show has felt very different each year."

Actor Al has relished working with Wright's script. "I re-read Dickens's story and you realise just how clever Alex has been in his adaptation because at least 50 per cent of the script is still in the words of Dickens," he says.

In turn, Alexander has enjoyed each year's interpretation of his dialogue.

"Some shows you get bored with, running a show for three weeks and thinking, 'Do you know what, that's it for this show', but with a show like A Christmas Carol that you've not fully planned out, there's always interest," he says. "Each year we get round to A Christmas Carol, it feels like a new thing, and it's lovely that the real value lies in the audience's involvement."

John concurs: "There are so many productions of A Christmas Carol each year where people just sit down and watch, but there's no other show like this with so much love of interaction and camaraderie."

The Flanagan Collective and York Theatre Royal present A Christmas Carol, York Guildhall, December 22 to January 4, 7.30pm; no Sunday performances. Tickets, including festive food and drink: £35 or £30 each for groups of ten or more and concessions. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk