A holiday staple that has captivated audiences for 21 years is at it again at Neptune Theatre in Halifax, with no signs of slowing down.
Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, starring veteran actor Rhys Bevan-John and directed by Artistic Director Jeremy Webb, opened last week.
It tells the age-old story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his journey on Christmas Eve with the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
For a decade now, Bevan-John has carried the one-person show as Scrooge, after taking over from Webb, in a very physically demanding role with a taste of comedy.
When asked how it feels to be a part of a show that has lasted for so long, he tells our newsroom, it’s “amazing”.
“It’s easily the most special thing that I get to be a part of in my professional life…and in my life in general. It’s something so wonderful. I feel a little too long, at a loss for words, which is rare for me.”
Preparing for the show
Despite doing the production for ten years, Bevan-John still finds it a challenge and something to remaster over and over again.
“I try to go in and be a vessel for this story…for this character…and in doing that I bring whatever is alive within in me to the story every year. And it’s so different.”
Bevan-John adds, what also helps him bring what he needs to every night, is 20 years of work.
“I’ve done trained classical texts, trained my voice, trained my body, the mime and physical theatre. There’s a whole wealth of technique at this point. I kind of take for granted that there is a real craft to doing what I do, and the way I am able to synchronize all that training is like feeling I’m the vessel for this story.”
How it began
Jeremy Webb has been with Neptune Theatre in his current role as Artistic Director for seven years but has been working in theatre for decades.
He tells us he created this version of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, 21 years ago when he was out of work and decided to make his own show to “pay rent and put food on the table”.
“I decided to create a little …maybe, one night project where I do a reading of Christmas Carol because I’m English, and I thought maybe people would listen. Then, as I started to work on it, I realized what I was actually doing was creating an actual production of a play that by the time Christmas hit had two puppeteers, some puppets, a very simple set and I rented the same stage.”
Then, he says, it kind of, “took off”.
A certain something
Why is this particular stage production, special?
According to Webb, is its direct connection with the audience.
There is one specific part where the actors improvise, adding a bit of “flavor”.
“There’s one section at the end of the show where we bring up an audience member and we have done for 21 years… to play the little boy who goes to buy a turkey. It started out as a little improv thing, but the reason I put it in is because I ran out of time and wasn’t able to learn the lines quick enough and couldn’t think of anything to do.”
Now, is it one of the most famous parts of the show.
He adds that he does miss being the lead actor a little, but this particular role is physically demanding, and it was time to pass on the torch.
Webb says, shows keep selling out and they will continue to stage it, adding something new every year.
“It’s an incredible privilege to have it last this long. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
It runs until December 29.
