Eugene Gilfedder as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Shake & Stir Theatre production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the Civic Theatre. Photo / Alex Robertson
Eugene Gilfedder as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Shake & Stir Theatre production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the Civic Theatre. Photo / Alex Robertson
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the legendary tale of the triumph of goodness and charity over hubris and being miserly, comes to the Civic Theatre in central Auckland from tonight until Sunday.
The Shake & Stir Theatre company have performed the stage adaptation annually in Australia since 2018 topacked-out theatres with many returning again and again.
“I’ve had people yelling out to me saying this is my third time seeing this,” said Eugene Gilfedder, who plays penny-pinching misery-guts Ebenezer Scrooge.
“I always learn things when I perform: people will always gravitate back to the sense of the good. No matter what has happened in the world, people come back to this at Christmas. They gather for family, that sense of feeling happiness.”
The classic story of redemption is brought to life with live music, carolling and even snow, keeping the 180-year-old tale firmly in the present.
“There’s been a lot of Scrooges, haven’t there, in the past. It is actually fun to be very angry,” Gilfedder said.
“There’s a great deal of humour to be got from it as well as great moral messages.”
Eugene Gilfedder (centre) and other cast members from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol perform a carol in the foyer of the Civic Theatre in downtown Auckland. Photo / Alex Robertson
Other cast members push the message of happiness and joy flowing from Dickens’ work.
“It’s the celebration of life and actually finding ourselves together at the right time of year and ensuring everybody’s okay and bringing everybody together,” said Lucas Stibbard, who appears as Bob Cratchit.
“The more flippant version is that the rich will only let you get in on that if you terrorise them into it by various means, including ghosts.”
Judy Hainsworth, playing Mrs Cratchit and Tiny Tim’s mum, said the story is one of empathy and putting oneself into others’ shoes.
“[It] always makes you a bit more generous and a bit more understanding, and that’s Scrooge’s journey throughout the show,” she said.
“Compassion is the biggest word that comes to mind,” said Mia Milne, who plays Belle. “By the end we’ve all learnt about compassion and family and happiness.”
Nick James, who plays Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, thinks the message is always about family, reinforced when the company gets back together every year to perform A Christmas Carol.
“We get back together to do the show so it’s very much a family on stage, off stage, and I think that comes through in the performances and the joy that we bring to the stage,” James said.
And what does Ebenezer Scrooge think?
“Humbug!”
A Christmas Carol is at the Civic Theatre until December 7. Tickets from www.aucklandlive.co.nz.
