For some people in Judy Russell's production of A Christmas Carol, it's their second time doing the classic Charles Dickens piece. About half the cast is back from the 2012 version of the stage show. For director Anna Russell, however, this is the third time in six years.
Her first involvement was at a theatre festival in Chemainus before moving with her drama background to Prince George. She is still learning more about the archetypal story first published in 1843, and more about how to present it to modern audiences.
"We made a few little amendments to the script, it has been fleshed out a little more from 2012," Russell said. "The writing, the sets, the costumes, everything is just growing from the last time we did this. Sometimes it's just something subtle. I had that time to research more about the period , the reasons behind why Dickens wrote it in the first place, the politics of that time, and that all has a place in what the audience will see."
Dickens was world famous for his live readings of A Christmas Carol, with scripts he adapted from his original novella. There are hundreds of variations. So resonant were the characters - especially protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge, the epitome of winter itself and also the embodiment of the industrial age's elite class - that eight stage productions were mounted in London within two months of first publication. More in New York would be opened that same season.
Although the book was slow to catch on at cash registers, it was an immediate hit with critics and sales were made up in longevity. It has never been out of print in those 171 years. More than 20 films have been directly based on A Christmas Carol, and scores more have borrowed from its themes.
Russell said she adapted this script herself, but "90 per cent of the text is straight from the Dickens version."
Having test-marketed her adaptation, and having so many of the actors and crew so familiar with the particulars of this production, it has made the rehearsal process a nurturing process for the new members of the team, she explained. It isn't just her direction but the group's grasp of all the exits and entrances that has developed the show holistically.
It doesn't just feel like a family, it was a growing stage family in every sense, since the rehearsal process began. Russell was pregnant when the casting was done, and baby Greta was born two hours after one rehearsal in October, and made her infant public debut at the next rehearsal two days later.
At two years old, her older brother Henry is already a veteran of A Christmas Carol and several other productions besides.
They are the fourth generation to work under the Judy Russell banner in Prince George.
"I think Greta may be confused at first about what her real home is, the family house or the Playhouse," Russell said. "We have a lot of our family around, and a lot of little people on-set with the other parents involved in the show, so it is everyone's balance."
This family-made and family-friendly production of A Christmas Carol runs at the Prince George Playhouse from Dec. 12 to 21. Tickets are on sale now at Studio 2880.
