Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, is coming to Gateway Theatre for this year’s holiday season.
The show will take the audience to Christmas in the 1840s, experiencing “the power of redemption with a deeply humanist heart,” according to the theatre.
The story begins on a Christmas Eve in London, with Ebenezer Scrooge, described in the novella as “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner.”
He was visited by the ghost of his former business partner, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, who take him to different Christmas scenes.
Scrooge is then transformed into a kinder and gentler man after the visits.
Despite the fantastical elements, the story was inspired by the brute and blunt reality of childhood poverty in Dickensian England.
“A Christmas Carol has always been one of my favourite stories,” said Gateway’s artistic director Jovanni Sy.
“Call me a sucker for second-chance stories, but I’ve always been drawn to tales of redemption. In life, I can’t think of many things more moving than being given the opportunity to say sorry for past wrongs and take a new path.”
Show director Rachel Peake told the Richmond News that, although many people are familiar with the story already, the show will bring something different to the audience.
“It’s fun to use what people already know and bring something slightly new to them,” said Peake.
“There is a new imagining of different ghosts; what they look like and how they behave is unique.
“And the music is great; something people haven’t heard before.
“Also, the story is set in England, but we want people to see a little bit of our own world, making a connection between our now and past.”
She said much “theatre magic” will be realized through the imaginations of the audience.
“For example, one of the ghosts will ‘fly.’ He is actually on top of a rolling ladder but we use the audience’s imagination of flying.”
Peake hopes the show will make the audience enjoy their own Christmas more.
“It reminds us how we are all connected; we all need to help and support each other.
“Christmas brings that out more than any time because it reminds us to share what we have, such as love, generosity and happy spirit.”
The show runs 8 p.m. nightly (except Mondays and Sunday Dec. 10 and 17); matinees: Saturday, Dec. 9 and 23 and Sundays, 2 p.m. and Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m.
Tickets are $29 online at Tickets.GatewayTheatre.com or call the box office on 604-270-1812.
For more information, go online to GatewayTheatre.com/AchristmasCarol.
