Newcastle is going Dickensian this winter - Launch of Dickens Festival North
One of Britain's most celebrated authors is coming home to the North. Dickens Festival North — a spectacular, city-wide celebration of the life, stories, and legacy of Charles Dickens — launches this winter across Newcastle's most iconic and historic spaces, running from 17 November to 24 December 2026.
Produced by The Assembly Rooms Newcastle — itself marking a landmark 250th anniversary in 2026 — the festival is a rich, atmospheric programme of theatre, immersive dining, storytelling, music, heritage walks, family events, and special performances. From grand Georgian interiors to intimate candlelit rooms, Dickens Festival North invites audiences of all ages to step into a living, breathing Dickensian world.
This is not just a festival. This is Newcastle becoming Dickensian.
Festival Highlights
Theatre & Performance: The festival opens with a haunting one-man theatrical adaptation of The Signalman, Dickens' most chilling ghost story. Audiences can explore his world further through Urania: Dickens' Home for Fallen Women — a powerful new piece shining a light on one of Dickens' lesser-known humanitarian endeavours — and Mr Dickens is Coming!, performed by Gerald Dickens, offering a lively and deeply personal insight into the man behind the novels.
Dickens Unbound! — The Immersive Dining Experience: At the heart of the festival is an extraordinary immersive dining spectacle. Guests are seated for a four-course Victorian-inspired feast as Dickens' most iconic characters — Fagin, Pickwick, Scrooge, Miss Havisham — appear between courses, blurring the line between audience and performance in the grandest theatrical tradition.
Family Events: PuppetFolk present their much-loved tribute to The Muppet Christmas Carol and classic Muppet songs, bringing festive joy and laughter for all ages. The festival concludes with the enchanting Dickens by Candlelight — A Christmas Carol, performed in the intimate surroundings of historic Alderman Fenwick's House.
Heritage Walks & Talks: Guided by Newcastle City Guides, In Dickens' Footsteps: A City Walk Through Dickens' Newcastle traces the author's own path through the city — beginning at Alderman Fenwick's House, once the Queen's Head Hotel where Dickens himself stayed, before arriving at the Assembly Rooms. Additional talks, storytelling events, and special guest appearances will be announced throughout the season.
“In 2026, as we mark 250 years of the Assembly Rooms, we’re thrilled to launch a festival that celebrates one of Newcastle’s most famous visitors. Dickens Festival North is bold, atmospheric, and joyful — a city-wide invitation to step inside the stories that defined an era.”
— The Assembly Rooms Newcastle
About Dickens Festival North
Dickens Festival North runs 17 November to 24 December 2026 across multiple venues in Newcastle upon Tyne. The inaugural festival is produced by The Assembly Rooms Newcastle, one of the city's most historic and celebrated event venues, marking its 250th anniversary year. The festival spans theatre, immersive dining, guided heritage walks, family performances, storytelling, and festive candlelit events, establishing a major new cultural tradition in the North East of England.
Full programme and tickets: www.theassemblyrooms.org/dickens-festival-north
