The Cricket on the Hearth is a feature-length, full-cast adaptation of the Christmas book by Charles Dickens available to buy as a download.

It is adapted by Eddie Robson (writer of Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully for Radio 4 and the acclaimed novel Drunk On All Your Strange New Words).

The cast for this heartwarming and comedic tale includes:

Graham Fellows (“John Shuttleworth”) as John Peerybingle

Jason Forbes (King & Conqueror) as Edward

Geoff Leesley (Bergerac, Brookside) as Tackleton

Tony Marshall (All Quiet on the Preston Front, Life on Mars) as Caleb

Bronté Barbé (Doctor Who, Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!) as Dot

Rosa Escoda (Line of Duty) as May

and Katie Moore (The Paradise) as Bertha.

This is a free preview of the first 14 minutes of the 55-minute play. THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH can be ordered now with THE HAUNTED MAN from https://www.averageromp.com/

Story details:

The Cricket in the Hearth (originally published in 1845) concerns a carrier called John Peerybingle who fears his wife Dot may be unfaithful to him due to their age difference. The story also features an ill-matched wedding between the imperious factory owner Tackleton and the free-spirited May. A supernatural element is provided by a talking cricket that speaks to John after a drunken night out.