Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Silly season is nigh. Whether the prospect whips you into a flurry of festive cheer or has you gearing up for an annual round of “Bah, humbuggery” – and most of us are in between – there’s plenty to see and do between now and year’s end.

Without further ado, here is a very Melbourne Christmas guide with something in the stocking for everyone. THEATRE A Christmas Carol Why did Ebenezer Scrooge become the ultimate grinch? Well, to his mind, life was nothing but a permanent cost-of-living crisis: “What’s Christmastime,” he sneers, “but a time for paying bills without money – a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer.” Relatable.

Matthew Wharcus’ production of A Christmas Carol will set budding Scrooges to rights. Now in its third year, it has established itself as a Melbourne Christmas tradition and the charming adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic parable from Jack Thorne ( Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ) is a bell-ringing, carol-singing delight. There’s a new celebrity Scrooge every year – in 2022 David Wenham, last year Owen Teale from Game of Thrones – and Erik Thomson steps into the role this time.

The Packed to the Rafters and All Saints star first came to wider attention as Hades on Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess – with a larger-than-life mean streak that’ll be useful for playing Ebenezer before his de-Scroogificat.