What Goes Into Creating The Great Christmas Feast?

Every Christmas, a Kensington warehouse is transformed into a Dickensian dining room for The Lost Estate’s immersive extravaganza, The Great Christmas Feast. An annual sell-out, it comprises of a three-course dinner and a spell-binding immersive show complete with live music, tasty tipples and on-theme waitstaff.

But what goes into making the show, and what can guests expect when they arrive? C&TH delves behind the scenes, with the help of the experts.

The Great Christmas Feast: What, When, Where & How To Go

The Great Christmas Feast is an annual theatre and dining experience created by immersive masters The Lost Estate. It has become a festive essential in the Christmas calendar, inspired by Charles Dickens’ timeless festive novel, A Christmas Carol.

The Lost Estate co-founder Eddy Hackett tells C&TH the show’s annual return is ‘a wonderful privilege’, adding: ‘We have the honour of creating brand new Christmas memories for our incredible guests.

‘Many people come back year after year because they feel this is the one experience that truly transports them to the moment Christmas changed forever, when Dickens wrote his extraordinary story,’ Hackett adds. One such returner is this writer: I first saw the show in 2024, and was totally taken with the detailed set design (by Darling and Edge, with world-building led by Thomas Kirk Shannon and lighting by Peter Small), the showstopping one-man performance and the spine-tingling live music that soundtracks the whole experience. Hackett, meanwhile, says he has seen the show ‘probably 100 times, maybe more’.

‘The production has grown unbelievably from its threadbare beginnings eight years ago, when the founders were washing dishes, waiting tables, making drinks, producing, playing and directing the show all at once,’ Hackett reflects. ‘To see where it is now, genuinely one of the greatest Christmas experiences in the UK, is extraordinary.’

The venue

The Show

Set in a magnificent dining room, at The Great Christmas Feast guests are whisked back to Christmas Eve, 1843, and to the home of Charles Dickens. But first, some context: the hallway leading to the main dining room is filled with intriguing facts and figures about Dickens and the London he grew up in – a society of two distinct halves, which prompted him to write A Christmas Carol (amongst his other notably socialist-leaning titles).

Then to the Christmas wreathed glossy front door and into Dickens’ parlour (aka our stage-cum-dining room for the evening). ‘Fickens has invited his nearest and dearest for the first ever reading of the story he has spent six feverish weeks writing,’ Hackett explains. As the night draws in, Dickens himself guides you through his timeless tale, and guests tuck into an exceptional Victorian-inspired three-course Christmas dinner while the story of Scrooge plays out around them with theatrical performances and cinematic music to boot.

‘It is a ghost story about one man’s journey to redemption, shown the best of humanity through the Cratchits, his past, and the future that awaits him,’ Hackett explains. ‘The show is a virtuosic one-man performance with three musicians. It is A Christmas Carol with Christmas carols, a duet of theatre and music.’

There’s a touch of audience participation to boot – but nothing to be afraid of. ‘As a guest, you are among the noble and the good of Victorian London, invited into Dickens’ home by his household staff for an evening of storytelling, theatre, music, gastronomy and immersive experience,’ Hackett explains. And if that occasionally involves a jig, some acting and some cheering from the audience, so be it.

Running for around three and a half hours, it’s an unparalleled evening of Christmas magic.

David Alwyn as Charles Dickens in The Great Christmas Feast. (© Hanson Leatherby)

Meet Charles Dickens

The Great Christmas Feast is anchored by the stellar performance of Charles Dickens – and in 2025 David Alwyn steps up from alternate to the main star, while former Dickens Alex Phelps stays on as a director. ‘We’ve got a heck of a team to bring the show to life all over again,’ Alwyn tells C&TH. [Alex] is such a useful set of eyes to have on it, along with the whole directing team. I may be the only actor up there any given night but it is far from a one-man effort.’

Before joining the Feast team, Alwyn performed in another of The Lost Estate’s productions, The Great Murder Mystery. But when he saw Feast, ‘I instantly fell in love with the show, and how different the interpretation was of not only Dickens but also Scrooge and the rest of the characters,’ he tells us. ‘There was a darkness to it that I think is always welcome around this time of year. Going to that dark place to appreciate the warmth and light at the other end even more.’

Joined by alternates Tama and Andrè when he needs a night away, is Alwyn daunted by the whole show essentially hingeing on his performance? Not in the slightest: ‘Not to curse myself, but I love it when things go wrong or not as expected,’ the star says. ‘That’s when it feels fizzy and live. So I’m most looking forward to things not going as planned.’ When I was in the audience this year, a slight break of character from Alwyn in response to a particularly exuberant moment of audience participation was indeed met with cheers and laughter.

The feast in question. (© Will Stanley Creative)

What’s On The Menu?

Executive Chef Ashley Clarke (formerly of the Gordon Ramsey Group and temper Soho) works hard to rustle up a Dickensian-themed three-course feast every year, in 2025 beginning with a starter of potted rare beef, hot smoked salmon or cheese (each representing a historic London market) ahead of the show commencing.

‘At The Lost Estate, all our menus are meticulously researched,’ Hackett shares. ‘They reflect the produce, techniques and recipes of the period, then are reimagined through a modern lens to create sophisticated 2025 dishes.’

Then it’s onto a main of Gressingham duck (or king oyster and shiitake mushroom Pithivier for vegetarians) served with veggies and particularly moreish roast potatoes. ‘I got to sit in on a roast potato research and development session at one point,’ Alwyn says. ‘What a spectacular day that was. I had to be rolled home.

‘It’s hard to go wrong with a traditional, rich Christmas dinner,’ the actor adds. ‘But The Lost Estate go very right.’

Clarke’s menus ‘are developed over many months, with 20 to 30 tastings from initial concepts to final dishes,’ Hackett explains. ‘A couple of weeks before opening, we even cooked roast potatoes for 250 people to ensure our recipe worked at scale.

‘For context, we produce around 80,000 roast potatoes a year and serve 20,000 duck legs from our partner Gressingham,’ Hackett adds. ‘It is a huge operation, but the result is unbelievably delicious.’ (This writer can concur.)

Meanwhile, Charles’s personal cellar is also open for all with a creative Victorian cocktail menu, including the legendary Smoking Bishop (a mulled wine style tipple) and the Pear Tree Cup (a fruity gin highball). The Cafe Noir meanwhile (a fruity, chocolatey take on the espresso martini) makes the perfect ending. (Note that cocktails are not included in the ticket price.)

(© Johan Persson)

The Final Word

The Great Christmas Feast does exactly what it says on the tin: a decadent three-course feast is served and cocktails poured while guests sit back and enjoy one of London’s very best immersive experiences – and yes, it is pretty great.

Speaking on returning guests, co-founder Hackett recalls one particularly standout pieces of feedback: ‘a handwritten letter we received in the third year [of the show], written in fountain pen from someone who said the show had completely changed his life. He spoke about the immersion, the hospitality, and how the production honours Dickens’ mission, showing how we can become the best of mankind.

‘We keep that letter in the office as a reminder of the duty we have to this production,’ Hackett says.

And teasing the future: ‘I can’t say too much, but there is potential for the show to have a life outside London,’ Hackett says. ‘We are thinking carefully about how to grow it without diluting or compromising what makes it special.

‘There is one opportunity next year that feels completely right, not just for the show, but because it echoes what Dickens did himself,’ Hackett adds. ‘He built a room in his house for public readings and gave more than 600 readings around the world. This new opportunity would allow us to follow in those footsteps, taking A Christmas Carol to audiences beyond London. I am hoping in the next three to four months we will know more.’

Limited tickets for The Great Christmas Feast are still remaining, with the show running to 4 January 2026 and prices now starting at £173.45. Sign up to the mailing list to be the first to know when early bird tickets go on sale next year. christmasfeast.thelostestate.com