Patrick Stewart is widely known for playing Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in the X-Men films. On stage, however, he took on about 40 roles in a single evening. In 1988, he created a one-person adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, writing the script himself.
His interest in the story began in 1985 while he was working on the film Lady Jane. During a delay before work, he picked up an old copy of the book. He enjoyed it enough to prepare a shorter version for a reading at a local church.
As Star Trek became successful, its demands on his time worried Stewart. He wanted to maintain his connection to theater and keep developing his acting skills beyond Picard. A solo production allowed him to perform without depending on other actors’ schedules.
Stewart returned to the stage production repeatedly, including a charity performance in 2019. He also starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in TNT’s 1999 television adaptation, which used a full cast rather than a single performer. The film received generally positive reviews, with Variety praising Stewart’s performance.
