Did you know that during Dickens’ time, they told ghost stories at Christmas? That’s why A Christmas Carol is riddled with the supernatural. Dickens spent the last few years of his life traveling and reading his book to live audiences. The story is so well known, that it has inspired countless movies, spin-offs, and adaptations. Silent Theatre added its speechless rendition in 2011 by crafting a version in which Scrooge is a stingy theatre producer, Cratchit is his bleeding heart Stage Manager, and Tiny Tim is a street urchin taken in by Cratchit herself. Yes, Cratchit was a woman in our play.
The Ghost of Christmas Past was performed by a child using the theatre’s ghost light as a shaft; the Ghost of Christmas Present was a performer emulating a Scrooge body double; and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was supposed to be the entire set come alive, but the day before opening, the set didn’t, couldn’t, in fact, come alive in a way that the director found satisfactory so one of the actors was given a cloak and some dark eyeshadow and the show went on.
Last-minute major changes in the plot have been a staple in the Silent Theatre experience. The ensemble almost expects it by now; you could even argue that it helps keep everyone on their toes. Not that it always works out well, mind you, but when it does, it’s electric.
We revisited Christmas Carol in 2013 with a more traditional interpretation, although it was still entirely monochrome and silent and if we can ever scrape that footage together, it’ll surely grace the pages of this publication.
We hope you enjoy A Christmas Carol: the silent bah-humbug! If you did, please sprinkle a little good cheer in our tin cups:
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, friends! Looking forward to celebrating 20 years of Silent Theatre with you all!
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