Seven Oaks Magazine.

One of the ironies of contemporary adaptations of Charles Dickens's works is the emphasis on, and pleasure we take as audiences from, the reconstruction of lush and opulent Victorian set pieces -- ironic because the celebration of set suggests that we've fairly missed the point; it certainly undermines our condemnation of Scrooge or Gradgrind's cruel capitalism and industrial utiliarianism if we worship the luxuriant surroundings that they paid for.

Nevertheless, we generally expect to be rewarded with Victorian decadence from Dickensian period pieces, so it's initially jarring, even disappointing, when the bare stage of director James Fagan Tait's adaptation of A Christmas Carol is revealed. The ensemble cast stands in whenever furniture is needed; occasionally, an actor stands in as the same door that he himself is closing or opening. But it's worth getting past the initial displacement to realize that Tait's staging shows a far closer, clever reading of the original story: for Scrooge, people are tools, people are furniture, and the clutter of human chattel generally clears up as Ebenezer moves towards redemption.

It's hard to put an original spin on this particular classic, and this is the time of year when the repetition of myth is held dearer than is novelty; but Tait -- with the aid of his stellar cast -- pulls off both. Da Vinci's Inquest regular Alex Diakum is perfect as Scrooge, presenting a portrait of a man whose thaw from cold meanness to warm generosity is less sudden and altogether more gradual than typical turns as the miserly protagonist; from the start, we see elements of the gentle in Scrooge, buried by habit and frigidity. Bob Cratchit is played by Camyar Chai who, like Tait, hails from Vancouver's neworld theatre, and Vincent in Brixton's Andrew McNee does a show-stealing turn as a bellowing, sauntering Ghost of Christmas Future. The ensemble is rounded out by performers from several generations of Vancouver acting, including the adorable Aidan Drummond as Tiny Tim (there's nothing more endearing than a child actor who can actually act), the breath-taking Donna Soares (who may just offer Jennifer Lines a run for her money for the title of Vancouver's dreamiest stage actor), as well as the legendary Dean Paul Gibson.

This production is a blast: haunting music with a darkly ironic libretto; fantastic costumes; wonderful performances. Don't miss this one -- the Ghost of Theatre Present becomes the Ghost of Theatre past all too quickly.