THE Dreaming Theatre Production Company is breaking theatrical ground in York next week. The York company will become the first to perform a play in Kirkgate, the Victorian street in York Castle Museum.

The Dreaming's creative director, Lee York, is delighted at the chance to present Dickens's A Christmas Carol in this period setting.

"When we first set up the company, A Christmas Carol was the first show we thought of doing and the Castle Museum was the only place we could envisage doing it, because it lends itself wonderfully to the atmosphere of the story," he says.

"Scott writer Scott Harrison and I went along there earlier this year, in March, when we ended up having a chat with the finance director, would you believe it, and the museum turned out to be very enthusiastic."

Scott takes up the point. "The reason we're the first is probably that no one has approached them before about using it; we didn't think there would be any possibility ourselves, and we'd expected to be turned down because of the delicate nature of the exhibition, but thankfully they said yes."

Carols at Kirkgate are already a festive institution at the museum, and Lee describes The Dreaming's show as "the bread in the Kirkgate carol sandwich".

"The museum saw our production as something that was in keeping with the Dickensian theme," he says.

"It's going to be a slightly more ambitious project than the Carols, where the audiences sit on benches and the performers are on a custom-made platform. We wanted the actors to use the street, so we'll have the audiences on raked seating."

The Kirkgate horse and carriage will be removed, as it is every year for the Carols, and seating for 160 will be set up. "As it's a working museum, we'll have to take it all down each night, but with practice the seating should take no more than half an hour to assemble and pack away each show," says Lee.

Scott Harrison has written an adaptation of A Christmas Carol for a cast of 12, who will play 34 roles.

Adapting a 90-page story for the stage has been a labour of love for the York writer, who says: "I'm very confident that people will be happy with this version because it's my favourite novel, and I was already adapting it as a private pleasure when The Dreaming project sprang from that. That's why I'm confident it won't offend anyone.

"With it being a short novel you don't need to remove any material; you just have to simplify it slightly to make it a little more stage friendly."

The Dreaming will present Dickens's "ghost story for Christmas", A Christmas Carol, at Kirkgate, York Castle Museum, from November 24 to 29 and December 12 to 20 (box office 01904 650328). The show will visit Fountains Hall, Fountains Abbey, Ripon, December 2 to 4 (01765 643199); Pickering Castle, December 5 and 6 (01751 474989); Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, December 9 and 10 (01748 825252). Performances start at 7.30pm; York tickets cost £15, concessions £12, first two nights £10; Fountains and Pickering, £12/£10; Richmond, £2.50 to £10.50.

Updated: 09:55 Friday, November 21, 2003