Reading Act "A Man Called Scrooge" - A performance of the classic "A Christmas Carol" by six people

The Reading Act of "A Man Called Scrooge" opened at the Hakuhinkan Theater in Tokyo on December 28, 2025.
The original reading act "A Man Called Scrooge," based on the novel "A Christmas Carol" by the renowned British author Charles Dickens, will be performed at Hakuhinkan Theater from Saturday, December 27th to Tuesday, December 30th, 2025.
This production is a reconstruction of "A Christmas Carol" as a six-person play, based on a reading act, incorporating the acting and direction of a straight play. The cast includes Hironori Araki, Mitsunori Hayashi, Yuki Maekawa, Junpei Mitsui, Daisuke Sanbongi, and Gamon Kawai, and the translation, script, and direction are handled by Keisuke Shimodaira, a young and talented actor renowned for his modern interpretations of foreign plays and delicate direction.
This time, ahead of the opening, we had the opportunity to cover the press conference and dress rehearsal that took place on December 27th.

■The "Reading Act" is like a special toy box ~Encircled interview~

Q. Please tell us how you feel and your enthusiasm.

Hironori Araki: "A Christmas Carol" has been performed in various forms of entertainment, but this time we are bringing it to you as a recitation play titled "A Man Called Scrooge." The performance will be right after Christmas, so I am honored to be able to present this work to you after you have experienced Christmas.

Kawai Gamon: I'm very nervous, but we've all been practicing in a friendly atmosphere, so I think it will be a fun performance. Thank you very much.

Sanbongi Daisuke: First Fuji, second Hawk, Sanbongi, Sanbongi Daisuke! This time, director Shimodaira Keisuke said, "I want to make this story like a toy box," so the six of us would like to carefully weave the story together so that we can deliver a special toy box to everyone. Thank you very much.

Mitsui Junpei: I think the end of the year is a very important time for everyone, so I hope to create a production that will make everyone who has come to see this play feel happy and think, "I'm glad I got to see a play reading." Thank you very much.

Maekawa Yuki: Until now, I've never really thought of Christmas as an important event, but being able to participate in this production has given me a new appreciation for the specialness of Christmas and the specialness of sharing love with others. I hope that this film will bring those same feelings to everyone who watches it, and I will do my best to deliver it to them. Thank you for your support.

Mitsunori Hayashi: "A Christmas Carol" was created by director Shimodaira and so many other members, so I think it's an interesting production. Christmas is over, but I hope you'll enjoy it as an "after-Christmas" experience. Thank you.

Q. The play is based on the timeless classic "A Christmas Carol." What was it like rehearsing for it?

Araki: Personally, I think the reason why fables have become timeless classics and why such works have continued to be used as entertainment for so long is because they confront the emotions and social problems that humanity faces, and the emotions we feel in the process of confronting them have actually hardly changed at all, for better or worse, since ancient times.
I believe this story is about a subject that can be learned and reconsidered, so I would like you to watch it.
I think the most fascinating thing about the story is how Scrooge changes throughout it.

Q. Did your impression change when you first read the script compared to when you actually rehearsed?

Kawai: When I read the script, I knew it was about Scrooge from "A Christmas Carol," which I'm very familiar with, but I thought it would be a little difficult to play multiple roles by myself using only my voice and create an atmosphere for each scene. I was feeling my way around, but when I practiced with everyone and got together, each actor had put so much effort into it that the worldview and what was seen were completely different, and I thought it was a wonderful piece. Looking back, I think it's now been completed.

Q. What was the atmosphere like at the rehearsal studio?

Sanbongi: Even though it's a "reading play," there's a lot of movement and it's a dizzying story, but I thought it was amazing how the cast members were able to perform it so quickly.
Then, when I saw that (Kawaai) Gamon had written "left and right" instead of "up and down (Kamishimo)" on the script, I thought he was a playful person.
It was a very focused environment, but we also became good friends and I think it was a very high-quality rehearsal space.

Q. This work is a reading play in the form of a "Reading Act." Please tell us if there are any differences from a normal reading play or any difficulties you faced.

Mitsui: The actors move the props on stage to create different scenes. We do all of these little gimmicks ourselves, so there's actually a lot to do, and I think it was a bit difficult having to multitask. This production takes the best of both worlds - expressing ourselves through the voice of a reading play, and using our bodies to deliver the play to the audience - and I think it's a good blend of both, so I think it will be a piece that will appeal to the audience.

Q. How did you feel during rehearsals and stage rehearsals about performing A Christmas Carol with only six male actors?

Maekawa: When I counted the number of characters in the reading act of "A Man Called Scrooge," there were definitely more than 12. To perform it with less than half the original cast, just six people, and even with the limited rehearsal time, I was able to be a part of a group of skilled actors who were able to build up their skills leading up to the performance, which I feel is the ultimate joy for an actor. It may seem strange for me to say this, but I always believe that the more pressure is placed on the actors, and the more their pressure and enthusiasm are proportional, the more explosive the work will be. I believe this time, the work and performance will embody that. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Q. Please tell us if there are any highlights in terms of the production.

Hayashi: Everyone struggles with the fact that we have to move the set ourselves. There's also a lot of writing in the script.
Even though the rehearsal period for the reading play is very tight, everyone, including myself, is doing our best to embody the characters.
I think that the hard work we put in has resulted in something worth watching, and the way director Shimodaira-san interpreted the lines and movements is very interesting. I think that when we've managed to pull this off, we'll have delivered something wonderful to the audience.
There were some parts of Shimodaira's direction that I found useful, so I'm very happy to be able to perform with everyone.

Q. Please tell us about the difficulties of playing various roles and what you found difficult during rehearsals.

Araki: There are plays in which one person plays multiple roles, but in most cases, one person only plays one role. This can be done within a month of rehearsal, but in the case of a reading play, the number of rehearsal days is inevitably reduced. I think the difficulty lies in the fact that you have to be able to deliver lines in a short amount of time that allow the audience to imagine them through vocal expression.
However, I think one of the interesting things about character development in a reading play is that it allows you to transcend gender and play a variety of roles that are different from your own age.

Q. Looking back on the past year, what are your thoughts and aspirations for next year?

Hayashi: I've been working without a break this year, but personally I'd like to improve my acting a little more. I also want to be more conscious of living for others next year... so if you're in any trouble next year, I and my relatives will come together to help, so please email Office Sakai lol. Thank you!

Maekawa: In 2025, I took on many challenges and made many discoveries. This was true not only about the world outside of me, but also about discovering new things that were born within me. I hope that next year will be a year in which I energetically use my feet and mind to search for things I have yet to discover, scenery I have yet to see, and things I have yet to experience.

Mitsui: I would definitely like to act again next year. I learned a lot from working with such a wonderful cast in this reading play, their attitudes towards acting, the quality of Mitsu-san's (Hayashi-san's) comedy, and so on. I hope to use this experience to improve myself as an actor next year, and that's my goal for 2026.

Sanbongi: 2025 was a year in which I was able to take a big step forward. Up until now, I would never have had the opportunity to act with everyone standing here with me, but I hope to use my skills and luck to move forward so that I can meet you all on stage again next year. Thank you very much.

Kawai: I usually play bad roles every year, but I was very happy to be able to end this year with a beautiful production.
As for my aspirations for next year, I will be turning 50, and when I work with younger people like in this production, the physical strength and various abilities are completely different... Next year, I would like to improve my physical strength and train to increase my capacity a little more, so that I can work with everyone again.

Araki: Thanks to everyone, I was able to have a fulfilling job in 2025. The only difference between me and Uncle Scrooge is that I don't have enough attachment to life, so I try my best to live each day so that I will have no regrets when I die.
As with this shoot, I am keenly aware of the fact that I am getting older with each passing year. When I get to work with Kawai-san and my juniors, the young people who will carry the next generation, I think about what I want to entrust to them. That's why I think it's really stimulating to be on a set where I can work with young people, and I want to live my life to the fullest so that I can show them the ideal back they should strive for next year as well.

Q. Please give a message to the audience who are looking forward to the performance.

Araki: The story is based on "A Christmas Carol," an original work written 180 years ago. There was too much information to do in the short amount of time we had to rehearse, but we have prepared a new yet compelling reading.
"A Christmas Carol" has been produced in a variety of entertainment forms, but we will be performing it in the form of a reading drama, so I think you will be able to experience a new "A Christmas Carol."
We are confident and proud to present the show to everyone from this theater, so if you can make the time, we hope you will come and see it at the theater. We will do our best until the final performance. Thank you for your support.

■Stopping to think about Scrooge's way of life at the end of the year ~Student Theater Report~

As the name "Reading Act" suggests, it was a work that stood on the border between "reading" and "acting." It's not uncommon for stage props to be changed during blackouts, but the way the set was moved while the actors on stage were still visible made it a new form of reading theater.
I think many people have a strong image of "A Christmas Carol" as the story of Scrooge's reform, but what "A Man Called Kruge" depicted wasn't the moment when Scrooge transformed into a good person, but rather the way Scrooge lived his life as a person and the accumulation of his life experiences.
I think that people who don't have any special feelings about Christmas, or who spent this Christmas without doing anything in particular, will feel something when they watch this film at the end of the year.
It's a wonderful piece that makes you think not about what you haven't done in the past, but about what you can do in the future.
Yurie Watanabe, second-year student at Josai International University

[Outline of performance]

■ Performance Schedule
Saturday, December 27, 2025 – Tuesday, December 30, 12
Saturday, December 27th 13:00/18:00
December 28th (Sun) 13:00/18:00
Monday, December 29th 13:00/18:00
December 30th (Tue) 12:00/16:00
*Reception, lobby and seating areas are scheduled to open 45 minutes before the start of the show.

■ Venue
Hakuhinkan Theater (8-8-11-8F, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8132)
https://www.hakuhinkan.co.jp/theater/
・3 minutes walk from the Ginza exit of JR Shinbashi Station
・3 minutes walk from Exit 1 of Shinbashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
・5 minutes walk from Exit A2 of Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Marunouchi Line, and Hibiya Line

■Tickets (all seats reserved, tax included)
S seats: 11,000 yen
A seats: 9,900 yen
U-18: 5,500 yen
*Preschool children are not allowed to attend the performance.
*If you will be coming in a wheelchair, after purchasing your ticket, please let us know your name, the show you will be attending, and your seat number by two days before the show by contacting stage.contact55@gmail.com.

Official X:https://x.com/readingactstage
Official performance website:https://xmascarol-scrooge.com
For inquiries regarding the performance, please contact: info.destyle.stage@gmail.com
Ticket inquiries: stage.contact55@gmail.com

■Organizer/Producer
De-STYLE（De-LIGHT／style office）

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on July 27, 2025 by Yurie Watanabe, second-year student at Josai International University