In a twist on traditional holiday productions, the University of North Alabama’s Cinematic Arts and Theatre presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in a way most people have never seen — with Dickens’ original script and language.

“I took the full text and I just broke it out into assigning lines,” said Perry. “I wrote one line in the show, the rest of it is all Dickens.”

The show has one intermission,and is set to premiere Nov. 17-19 and 21 at 7 p.m and Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available to purchase through UNA’s website, www.una.edu/schoolofthearts/purchase-tickets.html , over the phone at 256.765.4559, or at the School of the Arts office Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM to 11 AM. Student tickets are $5 and all others are $15. 

This year’s rendition, titled “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas in Prose,” seems to be set in the traditional tempo. Amanda Perry — the director of the production — and her decision to keep the original title and the original script to challenge herself as a director. 

The story will be told in the original way Charles Dickens wrote it: in acts and staves. A stave is similar to that of a verse or stanza in a poem or song. The word is used in relation to a carol.  All of the original language will be used and Perry said she only added one line throughout the whole show. As the traditional story is long, she had to cut some pieces out. Although, she added, she kept scenes that are typically so she could create a richer background for the main character- Ebenezer Scrooge. 

“I left in the younger version where he’s left alone and when you see the neighborhood boys out playing in the snow on the way to the school. It’s little rather than jumps from here to there,” said Perry.

Perry decided to keep the story more towards its true theme. “A Christmas Carol ‘’ is a ghost story and she felt that it should stay true to its original writings. 

“We really wanted to lean into the ghost story aspect of it because it is about fear in general. Fear of the past–fear of how it’s going to come back and haunt you, fear of the present and fear of the future and how do you deal with it