A Christmas Carol: A conflict of the human heart

There are slick and flashy Christmas shows in production this season, but few will move you with the misty-eyed warmth of A Christmas Carol now playing at the Citadel Theatre until Dec. 23.

Smartly dressed patrons in the lobby swig glasses of wine while tossing off a few requisite “Bah, humbugs.” But once inside the Maclab’s thrust theatre, our modern day hustle is replaced with Dickens’ 19th century London streets.

Leslie Frankish’s lush costumes and set, much like a rich candied fruitcake, ooze with holiday merriment.

But in this world of extreme wealth and poverty, those ravaged by the underbelly of city life live a life of desperation facing daily hunger, early death and debtors’ prison.

As Dickens intended, this two-hour-plus production is more than a portrait of the embittered Ebenezer Scrooge. It is a denunciation of an unjust society perpetuated by greed and indifference.

Tom Wood, who adapted the script, obviously loves the floweriness and imagery of Dickens’ language. His script savours every word and through it we see the social indignation, the humour, and the great heart of a writer whose own father was cast into debtors’ prison.

It is the classic tale of affection and compassion. Scrooge is a man who has cut himself off from the emotional bonds of family, friends and the human race. He spends his waking moments in pursuit of a fortune, only to discover he is poorer than the sorriest beggar. Rather than being a villain, Scrooge is more of a walking tragedy stumbling through life.

This skinflint curmudgeon has buried the capacity to care for others. When several society matrons seek alms for the poor in charity houses, he snarls at them and shouts, “Let them die and decrease the surplus population.”

Which makes a visitation of four godly spirits seem so just. The superstitious Scrooge, much to his chagrin, is forced to cross through a magic barrier and revisit his own actions and subsequent consequences.

The flamboyant Richard McMillan, in his second year as Scrooge, takes his characters through a range of emotions from being a mean, tight-fisted old codger to a wild-eyed, coward terrified of ghosts. Bit by bit he becomes resigned to the forced odyssey and is ultimately so delighted to be alive he giggles non-stop like a mad man.

McMillan carries the heaviest load and gives the tale its narrative shape. However, this is also a story of the Cratchit family, and it is the fate of little Tiny Tim that lies in the hands of Scrooge.

Julien Arnold is the noble but penniless Bob Cratchit, a man with a great capacity for human kindness, while St. Albert Children’s Theatre alumna Kate Ryan as Mrs. Cratchit is the strong-willed loving mother every child would want.

Several gothic characters in particular stood out. Rejean Cournoyer’s spirit of Jacob Marley is a rasping creature wrapped in chains that lead to the underworld. And Jeremy Crittendon’s Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is the black-hooded, towering enigma that silently floats across the stage pointing fingers.

Although Scrooge redeems himself and Dickens lavishes a happy ending on us, more than a century later the horrors of two characters, Ignorance and Want, are still upon us. Like Scrooge, we too have a choice in the direction of our lives – something to ponder for the new year.