'A Christmas Carol' brings out the best of the Shaw ensemble

It’s no secret that Charles Dickens was admired by George Bernard Shaw. American drama critic and New Yorker contributor once said that Shaw admitted to him “a concordance of his own writings would reveal the Dickens allusions running four to one against any other writer.”

Many such references to Shaw’s love of the Victorian-era author are quite easy to find. So it makes perfect sense that since 2017 the well-known Dickens tale A Christmas Carol has become an annual staple of the Shaw Festival holiday season. 

Through the years it seems just about every member of the Shaw ensemble has had a role in the Tim Carroll adaptation of the story of Scrooge, this year directed by Ryan G. Hinds and starring Sanjay Talwar in the lead role.

That comes in handy during cold and flu season. When the Local attended a matinee performance recently, it began with Marla McLean, who plays Mrs. Cratchit, informing the audience three cast members were out with illnesses. 

Katie Ryerson stepped in for Jenny L. Wright in the role of Mrs. Dilber. For much of the first act that role included her sitting on the floor, motionless and emotionless, holding up a desktop on which Scrooge would write in his ledger. Surely several audience members were drawn to her stoic nature, waiting for her to twitch, blink or make any kind of distracting movement. Yet she remained still as a statue throughhout. 

Shawn Wright has brought his excellent comic timing to the role of Christmas Present this season. But when he took ill it was Gryphyn Karimloo who took his place. The Toronto native in his first year with Shaw knocked it out of the park with his boundless energy, bringing the audience to fits of laughter. 

Finally, Shaw veteran Graeme Somerville came in to take over from the under-the-weather Kristopher Bowman as Mr. Hubble. For Somerville, it was a natural move, as he held the lead role in Shaw’s 2021 and 2022 productions of A Christmas Carol. 

The fact that three actors in a cast of only 10 can step in and not miss a beat is a loud testament to the quality and skill set of the Shaw Ensemble. 

And speaking of skill sets, the use of puppetry throughout A Christmas Carol is remarkable. Whether it was a hand-held cat, a jack-in-the-box or a giant ghost hovering over the Royal George audience, the movements were done adroitly by numerous cast members. One can only imagine that the ensemble members relish the opportunity to hone this little-used aspect of their craft in this production each year. Puppetry director Alexis Milligan must be given much credit for this awe-inspiring aspect of the show. 

The musical skills on display by Marlene Ginader on violin and Lawrence Libor on accordion are another example of the multi-talented nature of the ensemble. Besides playing Belle and Fred respectively, the pair provided music before, during and at the end of the production, in character, of course. 

As is often the case, the small, intimate setting of the Queen Street theatre is used to involve the audience several times, beginning with a ‘snowball fight’ between cast members as the show began, and a sing-along as the show closed. 

Sitting in the theatre waiting for the show to begin, The Local overheard a few theatre-goers clue in to the fact that the advent calendar backdrop was actually a depiction of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s heritage district, complete with the Prince of Wales Hotel and the cenotaph. 

There were other cheeky local references in the script to a store called Just Yule and to Henry Higgins, a Shaw character from the other holiday season offering over at the Festival Theatre. 

At just 90 minutes, A Christmas Carol is is a delight, hilarious and fun, a wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit. It’s on at the Royal George Theatre until Dec. 21. For tickets, visit shawfest.com.