Miss Bennet and A Dickens of a Christmas Head to Park Theatre

As part of its 2026 December programme, Park Theatre is set to bring to the stage the UK premiere of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, alongside the world premiere of A Dickens of a Christmas, based on the stories of Charles Dickens. Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley will run in Park200 from Wednesday 2 December 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027, while A Dickens of a Christmas will occupy Park90 from Tuesday 15 December to Saturday 9 January 2027.

Produced by Park Theatre and Adam Blanshay Productions and written by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, this festive comedy of returns audiences to the world of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, this time through the eyes of the most overlooked sister.

Set during the festive season, the play sees the Bennet family reunite at Pemberley. While Elizabeth and Jane appear to have found their happily-ever-afters, Mary Bennet remains confined to the role everyone has written for her. The awkward sister, the afterthought, the woman no one expects to surprise them. That is, until Lord Arthur de Bourgh arrives for the festivities.

Smart, funny and emotionally incisive, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley gives Jane Austen’s most overlooked heroine the story she was never allowed to have.

Taking on the leading role of Mary Bennet is Chloe Wade, whose screen credits include Emmerdale (ITV), Doctors (BBC) and Upgraded (Amazon Prime). She is also the founder of Chloe Wade Productions and the writer of As SHE Likes It, which toured the UK in 2024.

Joining her are Keaton Guimarães-Tolley as Arthur de Bourgh, Nadi Kemp-Sayfi as Elizabeth Darcy, Cash Holland as Jane Bingley, Jack Michael Stacey as Fitzwilliam Darcy, George Rowlands as Charles Bingley, Kara Lynch as Lydia Wickham and Yasmine Meaden as Anne de Bourgh.

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is directed by Sarah Meadows, with lighting design by Jodie Underwood, sound design by Matt Huxley and movement direction by Christina Fulcher. The casting director is Sarah-Jane Price, and the stage management team includes Ann Bailey and Ciara Pigeon.

A Dickens of a Christmas - Park90

Completing the theatre’s festive programme, award-winning theatre company Maybe You Like It presents the world premiere of A Dickens of a Christmas, a madcap new adaptation inspired by the lesser-known festive stories of Charles Dickens, co-written and co-directed by Caleb Barron and Ellie Jay Cooper.

Moving away from the familiar world of A Christmas Carol, audiences enter a world where goblins in church towers show an ordinary messenger visions of the future. A professor makes a bargain with a ghost to forget his past, while unearthly children haunt the streets of London. The fates of a young couple, a sickly student, an outlaw on the run and an oddball family hang in the balance as the clock ticks down to midnight.

Featuring Dickens’ characteristic wit, imagination and larger-than-life characters, these festive tales are brought vividly to life in this fast-paced production by Maybe You Like It, whose previous work has earned an OffWestEnd Assessor’s Choice Award and recognition as one of The Independent’s Gems of Edinburgh Fringe 2024.

Jez Bond, Artistic Director of Park Theatre, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming audiences to Park Theatre for two very different Christmas treats this year. In Park200, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley offers a witty and heartwarming return to Jane Austen’s world, while in Park90, A Dickens of a Christmas promises a wonderfully inventive and mischievous take on Dickens’ festive storytelling. It’s a joy to bring these productions together under one roof, and we hope audiences will join us for a little Christmas magic.”

Located in the heart of Finsbury Park, Park Theatre is home to two world-class performance spaces: Park200 for predominantly larger-scale productions by established talents, and Park90, a flexible studio space for emerging artists.

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley runs at Park Theatre from 2 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, while A Dickens of a Christmas runs from 15 December 2026 to 9 January 2027.

For further information and tickets, visit the Park Theatre website.