With the holidays just around the corner, there’s no better way to get into the spirit of the season than with a classic holiday play like Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Putting his unique spin on this holiday classic is Ryan G. Hinds! I asked him about his relationship with this text, his focus on the more spooky elements of the production, and his favourite holiday traditions.

1. Could you please introduce yourself to my readers and talk a bit about your role with A Christmas Carol?

My name is Ryan G. Hinds, and I’m the director of A Christmas Carol!  Putting the show together has required many hands, and it’s been a true team effort as we have a lot of new cast members this year, which means new energy and exploration. I wanted to bring a bit more scariness to the show, balanced with new moments of joy and delight. Even though the lessons in A Christmas Carol are big ones and parts of the story can be dark or sad, it was important to me that the audience have a good time at the show…and I think we’ve really managed to balance the fun and light with the dark and scary!  Christmas is a time for joy and that’s what we’re delivering.

2. This story is an iconic holiday classic. Over 180 years on, what do you think it is about this story that audiences still connect with?

I think we can all identify with parts of the story: the hard-working maid with an un-appreciative boss, dressing up for a holiday party, the first Christmas after the loss of a loved one, receiving an unexpected gift. Of course, there’s also Ebenezer Scrooge! We’re fortunate to have Sanjay Talwar returning to the role. It’s so easy to dislike Scrooge because he’s so nasty, but Sanjay allows us to see the human being underneath. We’re rooting for Scrooge to see the light, and when he does? It’s beautiful and moving. During our previews, I sometimes would see people wiping happy tears from their eyes during Scrooge’s final scene. That tells me that no matter how many times we see Christmas Carol (or what version we’re most familiar with), the humanity and redemption of the story is still meaningful.

3. I think a lot of folks forget that this is a ghost story! What draws you to the more dark and scary moments of this story?

I looooove ghost stories. Anyone who knows me well knows I’m jumpy at shadows or eerie noises that go bump in the night, so Scrooge’s journey through a dark, fearsome night was a big draw for me as a director: how can I make things just a liiitle bit more eerie and spooky? I spent some time in London this summer doing research at the Dickens Museum (located in Dickens’ actual house!), and among the things I learned is that Dickens actually wrote A Christmas Carol specifically as a spooky ooky ghost story, not a heart-warming Christmas romp. That gave me licence to weave in as much spookiness as I could think of within the fun and merriment of Christmas that Shaw audiences expect. What’s really fun is that much of it is via traditional, “rough-theatre” Victorian methods. How great that the simplest ways are still the scariest!

4. What role did you perform in this story when you were little and how did that inform your direction of this production?

As a kid, A Christmas Carol was the first play I ever did. I was cast in the role of “Tiny Tim’s Friend” at Meadowvale Theatre in Mississauga, and knew immediately that theatre was the life for me. Because I didn’t have a big part, I remember watching the adults all figuring out how to pull off the show…so now, I connect this story with ideas of community and working together. Even though Scrooge is so resistant, with some ghostly help the community around teaches him an important lesson and then brings him safely to Christmas morning. I hope that comes through clearly onstage. Our team’s knowledge, experience, and connection to the story has been invaluable, and they’re a sterling example of how working together and sharing gets difficult things done.  

5. What’s your personal favourite Christmas tradition?

Every year during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, I host a dinner party chez moi for my friends. I make as many dishes as I can think of, and then set the table with my Grandparents’ beautiful Limoges plates and silverware from their wedding in 1927. Filling my home with the voices, laughter, and energy of my circle of friends is a tradition that fills my heart with Christmas spirit, and has reliably been a merry night for many years running. The holidays mean getting together for me, celebrating the present while remembering the past and looking to the future.

I want to thank Ryan for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions! A Christmas Carol runs at the Royal George Theatre until December 22. For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.shawfest.com/playbill/a-christmas-carol-2024/

---

Thank you to my Patrons:

N. Bushnik, B. Kinnon, D. Moyes

And to my supporters who’ve bought me a coffee:

Angelica and Paul, Anonymous, Adrianna, and Caitlin

Would you like to become a Patron? Check out my Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

Or, you can buy me a coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/aviewfromthebox