About

'A Festive Story to Ring the Old Year Out and the New Year In.'

Lighthouse Theatre and Pontardawe Arts Centre present WAFR: Playhouse of the Air

It is Christmas 1950 in New York and the actors of WAFR: Playhouse of the Air gather for their annual festive broadcast...There is a new government, a new hope, a new world, so what better than a new play? And there is no better storyteller than Charles Dickens - and there is no better man to keep Christmas than he!

Trotty Veck is a ticket-porter - a man who fetches and carries packages, letters and deliveries for a small sixpence here and there. He doesn't have much but he is happy, gentle and lives a simple, obedient life.

That life is given its order by the sound of the bells of his local church - breakfast, lunch, dinner all from the sound of the bells. He sometimes even hears them speaking to him...

In the run-up to the festive season Trotty falls asleep after a long day's carrying and delivering. Woken by the church bells, The Chimes, and then summoned up the tower by their mysterious power, he has just one chance to change this world... but will he listen to the bells?

The Chimes is a Victorian 'It's a Wonderful Life' filled with all the master storyteller's colourful characters and heart-rending poignancy.

Fresh from their hugely popular adaptations of A Christmas Carol and Casablanca, Lighthouse Theatre brings their signature live radio play style to this classic by the most theatrical of authors. There will be jingles, carols, music and - of course - bells!...this show is sure to be fast and funny, inventive and entertaining; but most of all a Christmas treat to reinforce the message of this festive time of the year...

Presented in conjunction with Arts Council Wales