THEATRE REVIEW: A CHRISTMAS CAROL
7 Dec'10

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Most historians credit Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria, with popularizing the Christmas tree and making it part of mainstream British and North American culture. But that's not the only thing the Victorian era would give us in the way of evergreen Christmas traditions.

And in much the same way as Albert might have difficulty reconciling his vision of the beloved tannenbaum with some of the garish creations in tinsel and vinyl we have today, one suspects Charles Dickens might not recognize his beloved and enduring A CHRISTMAS CAROL in some of the more bizarre and even ridiculous adaptations made for stage and screen. But I'm betting that, given the chance, Dickens would embrace Soulpepper's adaptation of his novel as a true child of his vision. Premiered in 2001, Soulpepper's A CHRISTMAS CAROL returned to the Young Centre Monday for a seasonal run.

Adapted and directed by Michael Shamata and presented in the round, this is a production that has so very much going for it, not the least of which is Dickens' tale of Yuletide redemption. But while Dickens' tale supplies the bones of Shamata's productions -- and fine bones they prove to be -- it is in the way that Shamata and his cast put flesh on those bones that makes this a must-see for anyone looking to either kick-start a Christmas season, or to drink deeply of its true spirit. And it is in the heart that Joe Ziegler brings to the central role of Ebenezer Scrooge, the misanthropic miser at the centre of the tale. Under Shamata's direction, Ziegler gives us a Scrooge in whom we can believe at every step of his transformation, appalling in his greed, touching in his epiphany and joyous in his redemption.

Shamata then surrounds Ziegler's Scrooge with a veritable treasure chest of fine actors, most of them cast in multiple roles. Oliver Dennis gives us a Bob Cratchit in three wonderful dimensions, supported by his real-life wife, Deborah Drakeford, cast as the long-suffering and loving Mrs. Cratchit. Matthew Edison moves back and forth between the roles of the young Scrooge and Scrooge's spurned nephew Fred with grace and ease.

Kevin Bundy and Maggie Huculak disarm then charm, as the fun-loving Fezziwigs, while as Scrooge's housekeeper, Mrs. Dilber, Huculak packs an entire relationship into a single malevolent look.

Working with only minimal props (exquisitely created and/or chosen by John Ferguson) Shamata, lighting designer Alan Brodie and costumers Mary-Jo Carter Dodd and Julie Fox bring the world of Victorian London to glorious life, never moreso than at the delightful Fezziwig fète that ends the first act in delirious swirls of colour and joy, painted by choreographer Tim French.

It is such a strong production, in fact, that it is almost possible to overlook what proves to be the only weak link in a delightful Christmas chain. Cast as the ghost of Jacob Marley, as well as the three Yule ghosts who will visit Scrooge in the night of his redemption, John Jarvis does his level best, but is simply miscast, lacking as he is the kind of presence in any of the roles that would allow him to terrify either Scrooge or the audience. It's not that Jarvis lacks talent, but rather the gravitas the role demands. Like a tenor charged with carrying a bass-line, he simply doesn't have the depth.

Still, this is one Christmas Carol that will linger in your mind and in your heart, long after the season's gone. Don't let it -- or Christmas -- pass you by.