REVIEW
What: A Christmas Carol
Where: Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney
When: Continues tonight at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Dec. 21 to 23 at 8 p.m.
Rating: 4 (out of five)
Tired of the treacly seasonal entertainment now in full trickle? Then consider an impressive theatre adaptation of A Christmas Carol now playing in Sidney.
Actor Scott Hylands, from the TV series Night Heat, stars in his new one-man adaptation. Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol is a century and a half old, yet it never seems stale. The tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation remains a perennial favourite, thanks to the richly drawn characters and life-affirming -- if slightly scary -- narrative.
Hylands does full justice to the yarn with his version, clocking in at two hours including intermission. For a single actor, it's a tremendous challenge. (There is precedent for this feat -- Star Trek's Patrick Stewart also did a one-man Christmas Carol.) Hylands plays a cast of dozens: Scrooge, Scrooge's nephew, Marley's ghost, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future, and many others.
It's bare-bones theatre. On stage, there are two chairs, a table and a door. There is no set; the lighting is minimal. Hylands, dressed in a blue pullover and khakis, has deliberately avoided costume changes.
This one's all about the acting. Characters are created solely with gestures, facial expressions, voice intonations. Hylands -- a veteran performer who has been in several Belfry Theatre plays -- relies on acting chops and the power of the narrative to carry the day. Thanks to his considerable skills, it works for the most part.
Although white-haired Hylands is an older actor, he carries himself like a young man. He imbued the entire performance Thursday night with a vivacity that made A Christmas Carol bristle with life. Hylands started one scene -- as Scrooge -- by lying on a table and sounding each "bong" of a clock sounding 12. Despite being on his back, the actor exuded a sense of energy; it was oddly fascinating to watch his stomach rise and fall with each strike.
The actor's chance-taking joie de vivre resulted in many unforgettable moments. I loved, for instance, how Hylands portrayed Scrooge attempting laughter after a half-century hiatus. It sounded like an antique car's engine struggling to turn over -- very amusing.
Hylands started his show at a brisk clip. This continued for 15 or 20 minutes. The tempo was a little too quick -- running the risk of glossing over the story. This improved as the performance progressed, however.
This is a largely self-directed performance. I suspect a workshop with an experienced director might fine-tune certain aspects of the play, such as pacing. With so many difficult characters in an intricate plot, it's easy to lose sight of who's who. Still, Hylands's sharp gift for mimicry and attention to detail ensured we never strayed for long.
I think, too, that more attention to lighting would lift the show. The lighting design is very basic. It's especially noticeable with minimal props and non-existent costumes and set. Additional care in this area would provide further clarity and richness.
On top of everything else, Hylands deserves credit for carrying off a huge feat of memorization. Dickens's language is deeply imagistic -- it's wonderful to hear it acted. At the same time, the writing style is also very tense. Acting this show must be like climbing a small mountain every night.
A fine touch is the addition of occasional cello music. It's provided by a fine young player, Charles Cayer, a Grade 11 student at Esquimalt Secondary School.
