A Christmas Carol is a classic and most of us know the high points: in Victorian London, selfish Ebenezer Scrooge spends Christmas Eve counting his money and snickering at the poor.
That is, til he's paid a surprise visit by the ghost of his former business partner, Marley, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and gets a whole new lease on life.
It's a tale that's revisited often, too: I love the 1951 black-and-white classic starring Alastair Sim, but I equally enjoy Bill Murray's ridiculously ham-handed Scrooged from 1988, and even The Muppets have a pretty fantastic rendition!
I watch one version or another every year, but I've never had the chance to see A Christmas Carol live. Til tonight, that is. This year Jillian Keiley, the Artistic Director of English Theatre at the National Arts Centre, has completely re-imaginged this Christmas classic in a whole new light.
Jillian worked with acclaimed costume and set designer Bretta Gerecke to create a magical world bathed completely in white, and cast Newfoundland actor Andy Jones as Ebenezer Scrooge. I caught up with Bretta inside the NAC's wardrobe workshop and picked her brain. Check out our interview below!
The cast of A Christmas Carol also includes Jack Volpe, a Montreal-based artist who is deaf, and Bruce Horak, a Toronto-based artist who is legally blind, as the narrators and two of the spirits.
My day job is at the NAC and it's been nothing short of inspiring having a glimpse of how the cast works together to tell the story - despite their challenges. I can hardly wait to see it tonight!
A Christmas Carol runs daily at the NAC til December 31st so you have a few days left to catch the show! And if you're aged 13-29, grab a same-day Trinity Live Rush ticket for just $15 each. Can't beat that, same price as going to the movies! You can buy up to two tickets and your guest can be any age. Spread the word! And if you're not in that age range, tickets start at just $32.
Happy Christmas, one and all!
All performance images courtesy of the National Arts Centre.