WCT embracing tradition of holiday classic, A Christmas Carol

Nov 21, 2017 | 3:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — A timeless Christmas tale is coming to Sagebrush Theatre, just in time for the holiday season. 

The latest Western Canada Theatre production is A Christmas Carol. The production, adapted from the classic Charles Dickens Novel, follows the transformation of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. 

Making his WCT debut as the bitter old man is Michael Spencer-Davis. 

Davis is hoping to be despised by audiences.

“Scrooges I’ve often seen in the past sometimes have a little bit of a wink to the audience as if they want to be liked by the audience as soon as the play starts,” Spencer Davis said. “I think we have to hate Scrooge right from the beginning, we can’t stand him. He’s a dreadful, dreadful man. So when his reformation comes it’s that much more fun for Scrooge, but also for the audience, because they actually get to see somebody change.”

This adaptation of A Christmas Carol has been in the works for about nine months. 

Director James MacDonald says the story didn’t require any modernization as the themes of the 170-year-old story remain relevant today. 

“We still have the same things happening in the world today, we still have people who are angry, and bitter, and regretful,” MacDonald said. “We still have people who don’t think about charity towards other people, that are again very selfish. I think the other part of it is to heighten the fact that we all have a bit of Scrooge in us, we can all be kind of Scroogey. We may not take it to the extreme that he does, but we all have moments of regret, of anger, we all have moments when we shut out our family and our friends, and it’s interesting to see even in that context of that time how it is still totally relevant and recognizable for an audience of today.”

A Christmas Carol opens on Nov. 30, and runs through Dec. 12.