A York actor is to return to the stage this Christmas – after starring in Inside No. 9 and several scary film appearances.
James Swanton is once again gearing up to give audiences a festive fright – with the return of his acclaimed solo renditions of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Haunted Man.
Ghost Stories for Christmas will take place at York Medical Society, Stonegate, on selected dates between Monday 25 November to Thursday 5 December.
This year’s series of shows follows another sell-out season in 2023.
The show will play eight dates in York before transferring to London’s Charles Dickens Museum in the run-up to Christmas.
“I’ve had to skew my York shows early because of the exceptional demand down south,” said James. “Indeed, we’ve already sold out all eighteen performances of A Christmas Carol in London!
“But being a northerner, York is where I feel most at home – and there’s no better setting for Dickens than York Medical Society.”
Since last December’s run of Ghost Stories for Christmas, James has spent the year as various terrors on screen.
He portrayed the Mummy in Mark Gatiss’s 2023 BBC Ghost Story for Christmas, Lot No. 249, before appearing as the Curse of the Ninth Symphony in the last series of Inside No. 9, after being asked by Reece Shearsmith himself to play the role.
James has also made appearances in several horror films this year, including occult apparitions the Hermit and the Magician in Tarot, the Jackal in The First Omen, and as Satan himself in the Rosemary’s Baby prequel Apartment 7A.
“I was astonished to see myself next to Julia Garner on the poster for that one,” said James. “Given I’ve played Lucifer in the York Mystery Plays, that felt like a full-circle moment.”
As usual, the York run of Ghost Stories for Christmas is selling quickly, so be sure to grab yours while you can – if you dare!
“I greatly look forward to gathering people together for some heart-warming storytelling. And I promise I won’t dress up as Satan!”
Tickets for Ghost Stories for Christmas are £16 (concessions available) and can be purchased via the York Theatre Royal website.