Stage Schedules | A Children's Tour of Dickens' London | Characters You May Meet

At FEZZIWIG'S WAREHOUSE young Scrooge's employer, Mr. Fezziwig, holds his holiday celebration, and all patrons are invited to join the Dance Party! Bangers & Mash provide lively ballroom and English country dance music, with reels, jigs, polkas and waltzes. You might even see young Ebenezer Scrooge dancing with his sweetheart. The Siamsa Scottish & Irish Dancers are there as well, with lilting Highland tunes and stirring steps, joined on occasion by visiting dance troupes sporting seasonal bells. When the bands pause for a well-earned rest, visitors can join in a lively round of "Wink," "Stagecoach," or other Victorian parlour games.

The grand VICTORIA & ALBERT BIJOU MUSIC HALL provides visitors with a wealth of entertainments from which to choose. Once a day, all are amused by a 70-minute adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan's hilarious satire on English society and manners, The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu. Twice daily, astounding theatrical feats are presented in a classic Christmas Pantomime entitled Aladdin & Cinderella Meet the Monkey King. Also twice daily, all will marvel at the amazing feats of  The West End Illusion Show, and once a day the stage is graced by the Royal English Opera Gala. The scene changes at 5:00 to 'Dickens After Dark', when grown-ups will appreciate the more adult fare of the artistic, yet provocative Saucy French Postcard Tableaux Revue (18 and over only, please; free tickets available at the Telegraph Booth).

At the FATHER CHRISTMAS STAGE, sweet caroling rings out and Father Christmas himself holds court beside a great toy-bedecked tree, jovially inviting young lads and lasses to join him for a lasting holiday photo memento. Children's fare abounds with the arrival of the Toy Parade and continues with Tales from Mother Goose, and the magical Word Pictures: Storytelling for All with the beguiling Mark Lewis. On the first weekend, enjoy The Cozy-n-Mez Magic of Christmas and on weekends 2-4, the zany antics of The Daredevil Chicken Club. You'll also find THE PICCOLO PLAYHOUSE, where children will delight as The Piccolo Puppet Players present Mr. Punch and his lovely wife Judy.

Beyond Grenadier's Gate lie the London Docks, Thameside home to the PADDY WEST SCHOOL OF SEAMANSHIP and other nautical riffraff. Look out for carousing sailors! Buy them some grog and they'll sing you a song.

Stepping inside the ADVENTURERS' CLUB elicits exciting tales of military and scientific exploits, all for the glory of Britannia. The Club's walls are replete with mementos of British conquest and exploration. Famous figures of the time congregate here to discuss and demonstrate science, military adventure, literature and the arts. You might even see a member of the Royal Household!

Around the corner you'll find LA LEGION FANTASTIQUE, where children of all ages are enthralled with marvelous inventions and exhibits of strange relics from the incredible exploits of the characters from Jules Verne's novels; hosted by Phileas Fogg himself! The wee ones can thrill to a ride on the Jungle Adventure Carousel, but watch out for the giant squid!

Beyond the Corinthian Rose Sporting Club, you will find the ODYSSEY THEATRE, where sensational swordplay takes the stage as Albion School of Defense presents a rousing production of The Three Musketeers! Marvel at the astonishing juggling feats of The Kondor Brothers. Cheer the hero and boo the villain as the Crummles Theatrical Company presents the melodramatic adventures of The Villain's Revenge. Be amused and illuminated as rambunctious raconteurs Mark Lewis and David Springhorn present their humor- and musically-infused Lewis Caroling.

Meet famous authors, artists and actors as they pay a call on Mr. Dickens' family at THE DICKENS FAMILY PARLOUR. Visit with Mr. Dickens' family as well as characters from his novels and occasionally Mr. Dickens himself. Partake of festive parlour games, Christmas carols and sing-alongs. Observe a working Victorian kitchen. Even Mr. Scrooge comes by to pay his respects during the holiday season!

Music and dance from around the world grace the SILK ROAD STAGE, where you might hear caroling or the sweet strains of a harp one moment, and see lively Irish, Middle Eastern, or Morris dancing the next.

Down by the Thames, sounds of raucous merriment draw the venturesome soul to MAD SAL'S DOCKSIDE ALEHOUSE, where Pipe & Bowl Morris give a lusty rendition of ancient Morris dances, the gentlemen of Brass Farthing lift a frothy good ale with their lusty songs, and the jolly tars of the Paddy West School of Seamanship troll out Songs of the Seven Seas. Patrons can join in singing rowdy favorites in the Broadside Music Hall Revue, in which a brassy bevy of bold, high-kicking beauties from across the Channel take to the stage in the wicked Can-Can Bijou. 

CHARACTERS ON THE STREET who you may meet include Scrooge and Marley or Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol; young Oliver and dastardly old Fagin or Bill Sykes and Nancy from Oliver Twist; the noble young Nicholas and poor pitiful Smike from Nicholas Nickleby; dashing David and evil Uriah Heep from David Copperfield; Pip, Estella, and Miss Havisham from Great Expectations; or jolly Mr. Pickwick and his Sporting Club from Pickwick Papers - not to mention the great Charles Dickens himself!