A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione, December 6 to 8, 2026

A Christmas Carol, the show based on Charles Dickens's story and directed by Valentina Cognatti, is on stage at Teatro Ghione in Rome from December 6 to 8, 2026, with two performances a day: Sunday the 6th at 16:00 and 19:00, Monday the 7th at 17:00 and 20:30, Tuesday, December 8 at 15:45 and 18:00. The running time is 100 minutes. The theater is at Via delle Fornaci 37, 00165 Rome, a few minutes' walk from St. Peter's Square. The nearest station is Roma San Pietro, served by the FL3 and FL5 regional trains. According to the show's page on the Ghione website, tickets cost 29 euros in the stalls, 24 euros in the gallery and 20 euros reduced for children under 12. You buy them with the purchase button on the official page, which links to the presale circuit authorized by the organizers, or at the theater box office, at 06 6372294 or info@teatroghione.it.

Language: performed in Italian. No English version or English surtitles are announced.

On stage are 12 performers, with Gigi Palla, Stefano Annunziato, Cristiano Arsì, Serena Borrelli, Luca Borri, Andrea Carpiceci, Martina Granata, Martina Grandin, Patrick Passini, Michelangelo Raponi, Francesco Savi and Alice Staccioli, and the chorus of the Margot Acting School. The long Immaculate Conception weekend thus becomes, on Via delle Fornaci, a date with the most famous Christmas story ever written.

A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione: dates, times and prices

A Christmas Carol stays at Teatro Ghione for three days, from December 6 to 8, 2026, with six performances in total spread between afternoon and evening.

The six performances

On Sunday, December 6 the show is on at 16:00 and 19:00. On Monday, December 7, the eve of the holiday, the performances are at 17:00 and 20:30. On Tuesday, December 8, the day of the Immaculate Conception, the curtain goes up at 15:45 and 18:00. It's a calendar designed for families: four performances out of six start before 18:00, and the last evening one still ends in time to get home at a reasonable hour.

Stalls, gallery and reduced tickets

The stalls cost 29 euros, the gallery 24 euros. The reduced ticket for children under 12 is 20 euros. For a family of four with two children, the difference between stalls and gallery is about 20 euros: in our view the gallery is a sensible choice if you're bringing little ones, because the overall view helps them follow the scene changes, while the stalls suit those who want to see the actors' faces up close.

100 minutes

The page gives a running time of 100 minutes. With the 15:45 performance on December 8 you come out around 17:30, with the sunset light already gone from the dome of St. Peter's. With the 20:30 one on December 7 you come out shortly after 22:10.

Where to buy tickets

Tickets are bought with the purchase button on the show's page on the Teatro Ghione website, which leads to the authorized presale circuit, or by contacting the box office. The box office hours published by the theater are Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00, Sunday from 14:00 to 20:00. For the Immaculate Conception weekend performances, the advice is not to wait until the last few days.

What you'll see: Victorian London in music

A Christmas Carol, in the version directed by Valentina Cognatti, brings Victorian London to the stage with music, songs and a chorus, according to the presentation published by Teatro Ghione.

Dickens's city

The presentation insists on the setting even before the plot: the snow, the cold, the charm and the squalor of a London dominated by poverty, destitution and illiteracy. The show builds it on stage with music and atmospheres designed to move the audience and, at the same time, make it reflect on the contradictions of an era.

Past, present, future

The subtitle the theater gives the show speaks of a reflection on the difficult balance between present, past and future. It's the heart of the story: the three spirits who visit Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas night show him what was, what is and what could be. In this production's reading, the theme of time becomes the key to the whole evening.

A chorus on stage

Alongside the 12 actors is the chorus of the Margot Acting School. The presence of a chorus is consistent with the original title: A Christmas Carol literally means a Christmas song.

Symbols and characters

The presentation promises to evoke, in colors and images, the symbols and characters that have made A Christmas Carol one of the most famous Christmas stories of all time. The casting of the roles among the actors isn't published: who plays Scrooge, Marley or the spirits you find out in the hall.

Dickens's story: A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens published in London in 1843 by the publisher Chapman and Hall, with illustrations by John Leech.

Ebenezer Scrooge

The protagonist is Ebenezer Scrooge, an old, extremely miserly and cruel banker who hates Christmas. On Christmas Eve he is visited by a series of ghosts determined to convert him. His name has become, in English and beyond, a byword for avarice.

Jacob Marley and the three spirits

The first to warn him is Jacob Marley, his late friend and business partner. The spirits of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come follow. Each shows Scrooge a part of his life and of other people's lives, up to the hardest vision, that of the future.

The conversion

After the apparitions Scrooge changes: he becomes kind and generous and starts to enjoy Christmas. It's an ending everyone knows, and yet every production is measured right there, in how believable that transformation is.

Many titles for a single book

In Italian the novella is also known as Cantico di Natale, Ballata di Natale or Racconto di Natale, depending on the translation. The full English title is longer: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, that is, a Christmas song in prose, a ghost story for Christmas.

Valentina Cognatti and the performers

A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione is directed by Valentina Cognatti, who leads a cast of 12 performers and a chorus.

The direction

The show's page lists Valentina Cognatti as director and Charles Dickens as author, and the presale circuit presents the title as A Christmas Carol, directed by Valentina Cognatti. In the director's reading, according to the presentation, the story becomes a tale told through images and music, with Victorian London as the real protagonist alongside Scrooge.

The cast

On Teatro Ghione's stage are Gigi Palla, Stefano Annunziato, Cristiano Arsì, Serena Borrelli, Luca Borri, Andrea Carpiceci, Martina Granata, Martina Grandin, Patrick Passini, Michelangelo Raponi, Francesco Savi and Alice Staccioli. 12 actors for a story that, between the Cratchit family, Scrooge's colleagues, the ghosts and the people met in the visions, has many characters: several performers probably play more than one role, as often happens in stage adaptations of the story.

The Margot Acting School chorus

The chorus is entrusted to the Margot Acting School. The chorus is the stated musical part of the production, alongside the music with which, the presentation says, Victorian London is built on stage.

Charles Dickens, the author

Charles Dickens is the author of A Christmas Carol, one of his best-known works, published in London in 1843.

A writer of the city

A Christmas Carol is set in the London of his time, and the show's presentation, when it talks about poverty, destitution and illiteracy, recalls precisely the social gaze that runs through his books.

An illustrated story

The first edition of A Christmas Carol came out with illustrations by John Leech, and the images in that book helped fix the faces of Scrooge and the ghosts in the popular imagination. It's a detail that explains why every adaptation, in the theater as in film, works so much on colors and images: the story was born together with its pictures.

Why it keeps being staged

A Christmas Carol is one of Dickens's best-known works. In our view the reason for its theatrical success is simple: in a short text it contains a complete story, a memorable protagonist, a clear moral idea and a happy ending. On stage it works for families, schools and adults alike.

A curious fact about A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione, December 6 to 8, 2026

The most interesting curious fact concerns the title. A carol, in English, is a song: Dickens's book presents itself as a Christmas song in prose, and the full title of the first edition says so openly, adding that it's a ghost story for Christmas. Valentina Cognatti's choice to bring a chorus on stage, that of the Margot Acting School, gives the story back its original musical nature: in a sense, it returns to the literal meaning of the title.

The second curious fact is editorial. A Christmas Carol was published in London in 1843 by Chapman and Hall, with illustrations by John Leech, and in Italy it has had different titles depending on the translator: Cantico di Natale, Ballata di Natale, Racconto di Natale. If you read the book as a child, you may have known it by a different name from the person in the next seat.

The third concerns the hall. Teatro Ghione is a few steps from the Vatican, and during the Immaculate Conception weekend the St. Peter's area gets ready for Christmas. Watching Scrooge's conversion a short walk from the most visited square in the Christian world, just as the city turns on its holiday lights, is a coincidence that gives the evening a special flavor.

Teatro Ghione, the hall on Via delle Fornaci

Teatro Ghione is a hall of about 500 seats at Via delle Fornaci 37, between the Vatican and the slopes of the Janiculum, tied to the name of the actress Ileana Ghione, who bought it and reopened it in 1980.

Ileana Ghione

Born in Cortemilia, in Piedmont, on January 15, 1931, Ileana Ghione trained in the 1950s at the Accademia d'arte drammatica, where her teachers included Sergio Tofano. She was a well-known face of TV dramas, from Jane Eyre to David Copperfield, from Una tragedia americana to I Buddenbrook, and performed Giacosa's Come le foglie with Tino Carraro. On December 9, 1980 she bought and refitted the old theater on Via delle Fornaci, which has borne her name ever since.

David Copperfield and Dickens

Among the TV dramas Ileana Ghione appeared in is David Copperfield, from Dickens's novel. In the theater bearing her name, the same author the actress had worked with in front of the cameras thus returns in December.

A hall for drama and families

For decades Teatro Ghione's program alternated classic drama, with Wilde, Pirandello, Shakespeare and Goldoni, with concerts. In recent years musical tributes, comedy and family shows have also arrived. With about 500 seats between stalls and gallery, it's a hall big enough for a show with a chorus and intimate enough for children to see the stage well.

An honor

In 2001 President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi made Ileana Ghione a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic: recognition of a life devoted to the stage and to the theater she had built.

Something nobody tells you about A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione, December 6 to 8, 2026

What the presentations don't say is that A Christmas Carol is, first of all, a ghost story. The original title says so, and the story begins with a dead man, Jacob Marley, dragging chains. For the youngest children some scenes may be frightening, especially the appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. That's no reason to stay home: it's a reason to tell children the story before going to the theater, so they know the ending is happy.

The second thing concerns the times. With six performances in three days, the times change every day: 16:00 and 19:00 on Sunday, 17:00 and 20:30 on Monday, 15:45 and 18:00 on Tuesday. It's easy to get confused. The advice is to check the time printed on the ticket, not the one you remember, and to arrive a quarter of an hour early.

The third is practical. The reduced ticket for under-12s costs 20 euros, that is, less than the gallery: for a family it means the children's price is the same wherever you choose to sit, so it's best to put everyone together, in the area where the little ones see best.

My advice for visiting A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione, December 6 to 8, 2026

The first piece of advice is to read or tell the story to children in the days before. A Christmas Carol is short, and in many children's editions it can be read in a couple of evenings. Arriving at Teatro Ghione knowing who Scrooge, Marley and the three spirits are lets the youngest follow the show without getting lost in the jumps between past, present and future.

The second concerns the performance. For families with small children the most convenient performance is the 15:45 one on Tuesday, December 8: a holiday, in the afternoon, coming out around 17:30, in time to see the lights of St. Peter's on. If you're coming without children, the 20:30 performance on Monday, December 7 has the rhythm of a real evening at the theater.

The third concerns the seat: in our view the gallery, at 24 euros, offers an overall view that helps in a show with many performers and a chorus, while the stalls suit those who want to catch the actors' expressions. The fourth: during the long weekend the St. Peter's area is crowded, and it's best to arrive by public transportation.

How to get to Teatro Ghione

The simplest way to reach Teatro Ghione is the regional train to Roma San Pietro station, served by the FL3 and FL5 lines, a few minutes' walk from Via delle Fornaci.

By train

San Pietro station also has a bus stop and a taxi stand. From the station you walk up Via delle Fornaci to the theater in a few minutes. On holidays regional train times change: check them in advance, especially for the trip back after the evening performances.

By bus and metro

The buses in the area center on San Pietro station and Largo di Porta Cavalleggeri. Lines and holiday times should be checked on the route planner of Rome's transit company. The nearest Metro A stops are in Prati, about 20 minutes on foot through Borgo and St. Peter's Square.

By car

Teatro Ghione's website gives three parking options nearby: a free open-air lot, the St. Peter's parking garage and a garage. During the Immaculate Conception long weekend the Vatican area is very busy, so leave well in advance.

On foot from St. Peter's

If you're already at St. Peter's, you can walk to the theater in a few minutes, passing through Largo di Porta Cavalleggeri. It's also the best way to combine the show with a walk among the square's Christmas lights.

Another well-known fact, yet rarely mentioned

It's well known that Scrooge is the symbol of the miser and that A Christmas Carol is a story of good feelings. It's less often mentioned that the book is also a story of social protest. Dickens sets his protagonist's conversion in a London scarred by poverty and illiteracy, and these are exactly the themes the presentation of Teatro Ghione's show brings to the fore: the squalor of the Victorian city, the contradictions of an era. Christmas, in the story, is the moment when the wealth of the few confronts the destitution of the many.

A second well-known but rarely mentioned fact concerns the form. A Christmas Carol isn't a novel but a novella: a short text, built as a ghost story to be read aloud. This length explains why it lends itself so well to the theater. 100 minutes of show are enough to hold the whole story without drastic cuts.

The third is editorial: the novella came out with illustrations by John Leech, and many of the images we associate with Scrooge come from there. That's why every adaptation, as the presentation of this production also says, works so much on colors and images.

The right photo to take at A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione, December 6 to 8, 2026

The right photo, at a Christmas show, is taken at the final curtain call: Teatro Ghione's stage with the 12 actors and the chorus lined up, the stage lights still on, children in the foreground clapping. During the show the advice is not to take pictures: in a dark theater a phone screen disturbs those around you and ruins the atmospheres built by the director.

The second photo is taken on the way out. Walking down Via delle Fornaci toward Largo di Porta Cavalleggeri you reach the Leonine Walls, and a few steps farther on is St. Peter's Square. During the Immaculate Conception days the square gets ready for Christmas: the colonnade lit up at night, after the Dickens show, is an image that stays with you.

The third is for families: a photo of the children in front of the theater entrance, with the show's poster behind them, before going in. It's the simplest memento of an afternoon at the theater during the holidays.

Some important events that happened here in history

The area around Teatro Ghione has a long history. The Leonine Walls, the ring that protected the Vatican, ran here, and Porta Cavalleggeri still bears the coats of arms of the Borgia Pope Alexander VI. On April 30, 1849, the first attack by French troops against the Roman Republic was fought at Porta Cavalleggeri and repelled by the defenders, among whom was the young actor Tommaso Salvini, who would become one of the great performers of 19th-century Italian theater.

In 1894 San Pietro station opened, on the line to Viterbo. The Vatican railway also starts from here, and the movies have used the station as a set, with Totò, Alberto Sordi and Virna Lisi. On December 9, 1980 Ileana Ghione bought the old theater on Via delle Fornaci and reopened it under her name: the date falls right after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and the performances of A Christmas Carol end on December 8, the eve of the anniversary. On November 25, 1986, Shaw's Candida was staged there, directed by Silverio Blasi.

In December 2005 Ileana Ghione, while performing Euripides' Hecuba on her stage, was taken ill and died shortly afterward. Her body lay in state in the theater. Since then the hall has continued to bear her name, alternating drama, music and family shows.

Who has passed through A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione, December 6 to 8, 2026

The classics of drama have passed across Teatro Ghione's stage, from Wilde to Pirandello, from Shakespeare to Goldoni, along with Ileana Ghione herself, a pupil of Sergio Tofano, star of Come le foglie with Tino Carraro and TV performer in David Copperfield. Popes and soldiers have passed through the surrounding neighborhood, the Borgias and Tommaso Salvini, and the cinema of Totò and Alberto Sordi at San Pietro station.

In recent years the hall has welcomed tribute concerts and comedy: FlaMENcos, I Fantastici, Giovanni Cacioppo and the stand-up of Mina Nader. In the same December week the program continues with Leda Moro's Il segreto della felicità on the 10th and Compagnia Almatanz's Nutcracker on the 12th and 13th.

From December 6 to 8, 2026, the director Valentina Cognatti, Gigi Palla, Stefano Annunziato, Cristiano Arsì, Serena Borrelli, Luca Borri, Andrea Carpiceci, Martina Granata, Martina Grandin, Patrick Passini, Michelangelo Raponi, Francesco Savi, Alice Staccioli and the chorus of the Margot Acting School pass through Via delle Fornaci. And with them, on stage, Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley and Dickens's three spirits.

December at Teatro Ghione: a week for families

In the first half of December 2026, Teatro Ghione puts together a small Christmas program, with A Christmas Carol opening it and The Nutcracker closing it.

From Dickens to Tchaikovsky

After A Christmas Carol, on December 12 and 13 Compagnia Almatanz brings The Nutcracker to Teatro Ghione, with choreography by Luigi Martelletta to Tchaikovsky's music. Two Christmas classics, one literary and one musical, in the same hall a few days apart: for families it's a chance to see two different shows in one week.

December 10

In between, on Thursday, December 10, Leda Moro's Il segreto della felicità combines music, dance, contemporary circus and Argentine tango: a show meant for an adult audience, at 20:30.

Other Christmases in Rome

If you're looking for more ideas for the season, there's an overview on Christmas in Rome, with markets, nativity scenes and lights.

What to see around Teatro Ghione

Teatro Ghione is between St. Peter's, Borgo and the Janiculum, and before or after an afternoon show the surroundings offer many options.

St. Peter's and Borgo

St. Peter's Square is a few minutes' walk away. In the Christmas season the square gets ready for the holidays, and a walk under the colonnade is the natural complement to a Christmas show. Between the square and the Tiber lies the Borgo district, toward Castel Sant'Angelo.

The Janiculum

Behind the theater rises the Janiculum, with its terrace over the city. If you're going to the 17:00 performance on Monday the 7th, a climb up the hill in the early afternoon combines well with the show.

Villa Pamphilj

Farther south opens Villa Doria Pamphilj, the big park where a morning walk can round off a holiday with the children.

Porta Cavalleggeri and the station: a walk before the show

If you arrive at Teatro Ghione by train or on foot from St. Peter's, you cross a small neighborhood loaded with history, worth looking at calmly.

The Leonine Walls

Walking down toward Largo di Porta Cavalleggeri you skirt the Leonine Walls. On the gate you can make out the coats of arms of the Borgia Pope Alexander VI, and here, on April 30, 1849, the defenders of the Roman Republic repelled the first French attack.

The movie station

Roma San Pietro station, opened in 1894 with the line to Viterbo, is also the starting point of the Vatican railway. Film has used it several times as a set, with Totò, Alberto Sordi and Virna Lisi: arriving at the theater by train means getting off at a place many people have already seen on screen without knowing it.

Where to eat before or after the show

Around Teatro Ghione there are pizzerias, trattorias and cafés in the streets between Via delle Fornaci, Via Gregorio VII and the slopes of the Janiculum, frequented mainly by people who live in the neighborhood.

Before the afternoon performances

With the 15:45 and 16:00 performances, the holiday lunch can be taken calmly and you reach the theater in the early afternoon. A snack or a hot chocolate in a neighborhood café before going in is a good idea with children.

After the evening performances

After the 19:00 performance on Sunday and the 20:30 one on Monday there's time for a pizza in the residential streets around Via Gregorio VII, or in Borgo and Prati. The places facing Via della Conciliazione are aimed mainly at tourists. During the long weekend restaurants fill up: better to book.

Accessibility, children and practical information

Teatro Ghione is listed as accessible to people with disabilities by the Roma Capitale tourism portal, which also mentions a dog-sitting service.

People with disabilities

If you use a wheelchair or need assistance, it's useful to call the theater before the evening, at 06 6372294, to find out how access is organized and where the reserved seats are.

With children

A Christmas Carol is a family-friendly show, with a reduced ticket for children under 12. The story has ghosts and a few dark scenes: telling it to the little ones beforehand helps them experience it as an adventure. 100 minutes is a demanding length for children under five, and for them the afternoon performances are the calmest choice.

Arriving on time

With many families in the hall, getting in takes a few extra minutes. The advice is to arrive at least a quarter of an hour before the time on your ticket.

The Immaculate Conception long weekend in Rome

The performances of A Christmas Carol fall during the Immaculate Conception long weekend, from Sunday, December 6 to Tuesday, December 8, 2026, one of the liveliest weekends of the year in Rome. December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In the St. Peter's area the afternoon is crowded with visitors. In the evening, after the museums close, Via delle Fornaci neighborhood goes quiet again. In early December the evening is cool: a coat and a folding umbrella are enough for the walk between the theater and the square.

How to plan the day

A day with A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione is planned around the time of the performance you choose, which changes every day of the long weekend.

Sunday, December 6

With the 16:00 and 19:00 performances, Sunday lends itself to a morning at St. Peter's or on the Janiculum, lunch in the neighborhood and the show in the afternoon. If you choose 19:00, you come out shortly before 21:00, in time for dinner.

Monday, December 7

On Monday the performances are at 17:00 and 20:30. The first combines with sunset on the Janiculum, the second with an early dinner. It's the most convenient day if you're coming without children.

Tuesday, December 8

On the day of the Immaculate Conception the performances are at 15:45 and 18:00. After the show, the walk to the lit-up St. Peter's Square rounds off a holiday nicely.

Frequently asked questions about A Christmas Carol in Rome

When is A Christmas Carol on at Teatro Ghione?

A Christmas Carol is on at Teatro Ghione in Rome from December 6 to 8, 2026 with six performances: Sunday the 6th at 16:00 and 19:00, Monday the 7th at 17:00 and 20:30, Tuesday the 8th at 15:45 and 18:00. The theater is at Via delle Fornaci 37.

How much are tickets for A Christmas Carol?

Tickets for A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione cost 29 euros in the stalls, 24 euros in the gallery and 20 euros reduced for children under 12, according to the page published by the theater. You buy them from the official Teatro Ghione website or at the box office.

How long is the show?

A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione lasts 100 minutes, according to the show's page. With the 15:45 performance on December 8 you come out around 17:30, with the 20:30 one on December 7 shortly after 22:10.

Who directed A Christmas Carol?

A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione is directed by Valentina Cognatti. On stage are 12 performers, including Gigi Palla, Stefano Annunziato and Serena Borrelli, with the chorus of the Margot Acting School. The text is based on Charles Dickens's story.

Is A Christmas Carol suitable for children?

A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione is also designed for families, with a reduced ticket for under-12s. Dickens's story has ghosts and a few dark scenes, but a happy ending: telling it to children beforehand helps them follow it. For the youngest, the afternoon performances are preferable.

How do you get to Teatro Ghione?

You reach Teatro Ghione on the FL3 and FL5 regional trains to Roma San Pietro station, a few minutes' walk from Via delle Fornaci. The theater also gives three parking options nearby. During the long weekend the area has heavy traffic.

What is A Christmas Carol about?

A Christmas Carol, the Charles Dickens story the show is based on, tells of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly banker who hates Christmas and who, on Christmas Eve, is visited by his late partner Jacob Marley and by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

Final advice on A Christmas Carol at Teatro Ghione

The advice is to tell children Scrooge's story in the days before, choose an afternoon performance if there are little ones in the family, and walk from Teatro Ghione to the lit-up St. Peter's Square. Valentina Cognatti's A Christmas Carol brings Dickens's Victorian London to an intimate hall, with 12 actors and a chorus, in the days when Rome gets into the holiday spirit. In our view it's one of the simplest and most successful ways to start Christmas at the theater, for those who read the book as children and for those discovering it now.

Article written by the editorial team of Tour Leader Pro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences.

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