PL AYBILL a christmas carol
a christmas carol charles dickens adapted by Michael Shamata }{
approximate running time: 2 hours there will be one 20 minute intermission
TIDBITS
ARTIST NOTE: DEBORAH DRAKEFORD I love Christmas. And my joy of this season is fuller when this production of A Christmas Carol is part of it. Michael Shamata’s adaptation of this beautiful story is extraordinary. Delicately distilled, he emphasizes the dark to highlight the light. And I have been lucky enough to be a part of this, along with my wonderful husband Oliver, on and off since 1994. This is my 10th time I believe. (Is that right Michael?) Beginning in New Brunswick, onto London, ON, and now here, in the round, at Soulpepper. It’s a joy to be in the room with Michael again. I think this is our 16th show together and the shorthand we have after all that time together makes for an easy and trusting rehearsal. We have been friends and colleagues for over 25 years now. And he has known our children since the beginning. And to have my own daughter Charlotte a part of this production and watch her learn and be gently guided by Michael is a gift. I am delighted to be reunited with Michael and the rest of my Christmas Family. May the power of this story fill you with joy and hope. Keep Christmas well, and keep it all the year.
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Christmas Carol has been adapted countless times. A compendium of cinematic Scrooges would include: the incomparable Alastair Sim (1951), Albert Finney (musical version 1970), George C. Scott (1984), Patrick Stewart (1999) and more recently Kelsey Grammer (2004).
• D ickens
had a pet raven named Grip. It died in 1841 and he had it stuffed. In the manner of an irrepressible Dickens character, Grip had many adventures posthumously. He now resides at the Free Library of Philadelphia, taxidermically eternal.
• D ickens’
protégé Wilkie Collins quoted his mentor’s formula for writing serial novels (works that appeared in instalments): Make ’em laugh, make ’em cry, make ’em wait.
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2013, British actor Ralph Fiennes directed and starred in a film about Dickens’ relationship with Ellen Ternan called The Invisible Woman.
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2014, all of Charles Dickens’ novels are in print, as they have been continuously for more than 150 years.
Merry Christmas. DEBORAH DRAKEFORD, Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol p roduc t ion s p on sor
CREATIVE TEAM
A CHRISTMAS CAROL Produc t ion
CAST Joseph Ziegler John Jarvis Daniel Chapman-Smith Tangara Jones Oliver Dennis Gregory Prest Kevin Bundy Maggie Huculak
Ebenezer Scrooge Jacob Marley Spirit Spirit Bob Cratchit Mr. Fred A Charitable Gentleman Mrs. Dilber
Michael Shamata Director & Adaptor
John Jarvis Kevin Gordon Ava Arrindell Maggie Huculak Deborah Drakeford Daniel Chapman-Smith
Ghost of Christmas Past Ebenezer as a Boy Fan Mrs. Bingley Miss Hurst Ali Baba
Geordie Haley Composer & Original Sound Designer
Gregory Prest Oliver Dennis Kevin Bundy Maggie Huculak Deborah Drakeford Sarah Wilson Stephen Guy-McGrath
Ebenezer as a Young Man Dick Wilkins Mr. Fezziwig Mrs. Fezziwig Flora Belle Fiddler
John Jarvis Deborah Drakeford Ava Arrindell Daniel-Anthony Akuffo Charlotte Dennis Kevin Gordon Deborah Drakeford Stephen Guy-McGrath Maggie Huculak Kevin Bundy Sarah Wilson Stephen Guy-McGrath
Ghost of Christmas Present Mrs. Cratchit Belinda Cratchit Peter Cratchit Martha Cratchit Tiny Tim Cratchit Mr. Fred’s Wife Mr. Clenham Miss Jane Topper Agnes Belle's Husband
John Jarvis Gregory Prest Oliver Dennis Stephen Guy-McGrath Gregory Prest Sarah Wilson Daniel-Anthony Akuffo Maggie Huculak
Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come Businessman Businessman Joe Debtor Debtor’s Wife Boy Brigit
Joseph Ziegler’s performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol is ‘stingily’ supported by Donald Ross. }{
jos e p h z i e gl e r . p hoto: s a n dy N ic hol son
John Ferguson Set & Costume Designer Julie Fox Ghosts Costume Designer Alan Brodie Lighting Designer
Lyon Smith Sound Coordinator & Designer Monica Dottor Remount Choreographer Timothy French Original Choreographer Arwen MacDonell Stage Manager Monika Seiler Assistant Stage Manager Jennifer Lennon Associate Lighting Designer Sandra Marcroft Assistant Lighting Designer Emily Mewett Child Supervisor Kelly McEvenue Alexander Coach Diane Pitblado Dialect Coach Théa Pel Apprentice Stage Manager
soulpepper produc tion Jacqueline Robertson Cull Head of Hair & Makeup Geoff Hughes, Joanne Lamberton Cutters Barbara Nowakowski First Hand Natalie Swiercz Wigs Running Kaz Maxine Milliner Janet Pym, Emma Zulkoskey Dressers Greg Chambers Props Builder
BACKGROUND NOTES
I
n the preface to the original edition of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens wrote: “I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly...” Michael Shamata’s tender adaptation of this timeless story has haunted us very pleasantly here at Soulpepper. We’re always delighted to welcome it back along with the young, aspiring thespians from our city who play the well-drawn children in the piece. Ghosts, a hard heart, the possibility of change and transformation, it’s the perfect recipe to put everything “in good humour” with the season. But A Christmas Carol was born from a very bad humour, a career crisis. By 1843, Dickens had achieved fame and fortune but his popularity was waning. This wealthy man raised in poverty dreaded the prospect of being poor again. Desperate, he wrote the book in several feverish weeks, going on long walks when he was stymied. The author himself had to pay for the first printing and, fittingly, it came out just before Christmas. Dickens was surely gratified (and relieved) when it was a wild hit, selling a stunning 6000 copies in its first week. Mind you, the acclaim wasn’t universal. Some critics called it sentimental and over-exaggerated. Their criticisms ranged from the picayune: Bob Cratchit would have had to spend an entire week’s wages on that Christmas dinner! – to the petulant: Scrooge’s transformation from “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone” to compassionate man of the community could not possibly last! Its enthusiastic proponents credited A Christmas Carol with sparking an outpouring of charity and reviving traditions long out of fashion and favour. The story still resonates. Dickens’ passionate sense of social justice and his sharp observations of the human cost of living in a materialistic society transcend the centuries. His agile mix of horror and humour keep things lively. Through these complex, struggling human characters, A Christmas Carol charts the singular spiritual transformation of one man and makes a heartfelt plea for a society that champions co-operation and engagement with each other over isolation, suspicion and self-absorption.
play wright Biogr aph y Charles Dickens was born in 1812. When he was 12, his father was thrown into debtors’ prison and Dickens had to work 12-hour shifts in a ratinfested warehouse, pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish with, he later said, “no advice, no support, of any kind, from anyone ...” He began writing newspaper articles in 1833. Two years later his first novel, The Pickwick Papers, was an instant sensation. Wealth and celebrity followed. A man of epic energy, Dickens married and had eight children, travelled around North America giving readings and lectures, campaigned against child labour and slavery (among other causes), wrote a slew of famous novels, and dabbled in the theatre. In 1857 he quietly separated from his wife and, some say, took up with the actress Ellen Ternan. After a near-fatal train crash in 1865, he never recovered full health and on June 8, 1870, after putting in a full day on Edwin Drood, he suffered a stroke, dying within hours. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, where his inscription reads: “... sympathiser to the poor, the suffering and the oppressed.”
adap t or Biogr aph y Michael Shamata has been a pillar of the theatre community for more than 25 years, known for his precise, elegant productions. Soulpepper audiences know him as a writer as well, through his vivid adaptations of A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations. Companies that have thrived under his artistic direction include Theatre New Brunswick, the Grand in London, and the Belfry in Victoria, which he’s led since 2007. He’s directed productions across the country as well as co-adapting The Secret Garden and Dracula with 2014 Soulpepper Resident Artist Paula Wing. He directed the poignant A Tender Thing earlier this season.
So let the pleasant haunting begin again. And God bless us every one. Tidbits & Background Notes by 2014 Soulpepper Resident Artist Paula Wing
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!
416 866 8666 soulpepper.ca Young Centre for the Performing Arts Toronto Distillery Historic District
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Soulpepper is an active member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (pact), the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (tapa) and Theatre Ontario, and engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Scenic Artists and Set Decorators employed by Soulpepper are represented by Local 828 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. 
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Special thanks: Sorcha Gibson (Wardrobe Intern).
A Christmas Carol is staged by arrangement with Catalyst TCM, Toronto, ON. First produced at Theatre New Brunswick, December 1990.
family festival supported by: