To kick off this year’s Christmas Season, film composer and multi-instrumentalist, Girish Paul, will perform the entire music score from his festive movie, A Christmas Carol, at a special concert with film event at Kilworth Community Centre on Saturday, 29th November, 2025 at 8pm.
Together with Cork producer, Carmel Barrett the team behind the 2023 tour of their much loved concert film productions The Diary of Anne Frank and Victoria Frankenstein will bring to Kilworth their dramatic and moving retelling of Charles Dicken’s Classic Christmas ghost story, with a few twists along the way. The film features the late great actor, John Brett, as the curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge, together with Patrick Murphy as Bob Cratchit.
Well known for his spectacular stage performances, Girish single-handedly performs the heartwarming music score with his virtual orchestra in which he plays many instruments live on stage to the full orchestral score that will take the audience from the modern day back two over two hundred years.
Says Girish: ‘We’re delighted to return to the lovely village of Kilworth with the opportunity to perform our Christmas show and we wish at the outset to thank Louise at Kilworth Community Centre for all her hard work and effort in helping us bring this magical story to Kilworth to kick off the Christmas festivities.’
Q & A BY THE COMPOSER
This is a retelling of Dickens’s world famous Christmas story. How is your version different from the other films? Carmel and I decided to closely follow Dickens’s original storyline that was set in Victorian London when we wrote the script. However, in order to bring in elements that would present powerful messages for the audience, we decided to add a couple of additional scenes that were filmed separate to the main storyline, one set in a modern hospital, the other set in the 1920’s. Also we’ve replaced the character of Tiny Tim with Little Lucy due to casting issues at the time of filming. The result is we feel truly heartwarming.
What are the messages in your film version? The main thrust of Dickens’s story is to ask the question: ‘Can a person change for the better?’ So the main message we portray is one that also asks: ‘What would it take for a person to change?’ Of course, that’s where the Ghosts in Dicken’s story come into the story, and time will tell whether Ebenezer Scrooge heeds their advice. However, the two additional short stories that we have added give us two more messages, namely: ‘We never know what we have until we lose it’, and that ‘Faith can change our lives, if we don’t shut out those trying to help us in our life’s journey’.
What can audiences expect to see and hear? I’ve written several new songs to accompany the film up on the screen, so in a way this version is a one-man musical. The audience therefore will be swept away into the cold winter of Victorian London in which Ebenezer Scrooge and poor Bob Cratchit toil away at their desks on Christmas Eve as the rich and privileged enjoy an evening of merriment – until a sequence of ghostly events result in a very sinister turn. The orchestral music I will perform through the film in addition to the songs will entertain and hopefully raise the spirits of everyone just before the festive season arrives. Will Ebenezer Scrooge change his ways?
Are there any restrictions for the show people need to know about? Some of the scenes in the show are quite scary and may be unsuitable for very young children. so parental guidance is advised. Also there is flash photography throughout the concert.
How may tickets be acquired? Tickets are just €10 at the door on the night, doors open at 7.30pm.
