Christmas time, for a lot of us, means being surrounded by family, partaking in beloved traditions, and eating our favourite meals. But what do you do when you’re far from home, loved ones, and everything you know? How can you make Christmas your own? The world premiere of Kanika Ambrose’s The Christmas Market, directed by Philip Akin, centres around a group of temporary foreign workers trying to do just that amidst their untenable living conditions. Though heartwarming like your traditional Christmas stories, Ambrose’s text gives audiences more to chew on than black cake.

I grew up in Southwestern Ontario, where greenhouses cover once fertile fields and create an aurora of bright colours at night when the clouds are low. Seeing temporary foreign workers is nothing new to me; they’ve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I even worked on a family run farm and market right after grad school, and in my second term there, they had recently hired foreign workers to help out with their growing business. The Christmas Market took me back there, even though it’s set closer to where I now call home. However, there’s so much more which rings true about Ambrose’s text: the systemic racism towards these men, particularly in small towns, the conditions in which they live and work, and the constant threat of losing their job if anything is not up to snuff. This grounding in reality allows The Christmas Market to ring of hard truths while also allowing the sweeter side of the story to have impactful meaning.

The Christmas Market takes place in the week leading up to Christmas and Joe is very excited for the holidays. However, his trailer mates Lionel and Roy have other things on their minds. Both of them are fed up with their living arrangements, and as more workers leave to escape the cold winters, there’s extra work and less hands to pitch in and help. This is the first Canadian winter all three of them have experienced, and their work hasn’t provided them with proper warm clothes, boots, or gloves. Ryan, a former cashier and now manager, frequently butts heads with Roy, but has taken a shining to Joe and his hardworking nature. Joe’s Christmas spirit starts to spread, and Ryan helps him get prepared for a Caribbean Christmas in the north, but will all of his friends be around the table to celebrate with him?

The Christmas Market playfully uses the classic tropes of Christmas movies to tell a more pressing story. On the one hand, you have the sweet story of Joe wanting to have his first Christmas away from home be a special one, and to make it special for his friends as well. Plus he’s got a little thing going on with Ryan which is reminiscent of, tho thankfully not as cringey as, one of those rom-com Christmas flicks. At the same time, we’ve got Lionel and Roy’s stories, which delve into the very real and present issues which temporary foreign workers continue to face. I was happy to see that outside the theatre there’s information about the advocacy groups which work with temporary foreign workers to help better their conditions, advocating for people like Joe, Lionel, and Roy. The Christmas Market is like the best of our favourite holiday films, where it shows us that despite adversity, we can get through the worst of it with community and love.

Bringing this holiday hit to life is a cast of incredibly talented performers. Matthew G. Brown stars as Joe, and he brings a light and joy to this character which made me smile or sigh out loud on several occasions. Danté Prince’s Lionel is fierce yet heartbreaking; letting his tough exterior hide the many insecurities which lie beneath. Prince plays that complexity beautifully, particularly though his physicality and expressions. Savion Roach gives Roy a boisterousness which ultimately gets him into a fair amount of trouble. Roach’s comedic timing is spot on, and you can feel how much of himself he’s giving to this role. Rounding out the cast is the inimitable Brenda Robins. Robins has this amazing way of making even the sharpest of moments have soft edges as well, making her characters feel multi-dimensional. The chemistry on stage was fabulous; you could always tell how everyone was feeling about one another, even if they weren’t saying anything.

I listened to Christmas Carols for the first time this year as I was heading down to the theatre. Like Joe, I love Christmas: I love the traditions, the food, the time spent with loved ones, all of it. And though I will die on the hill that “The Sound of Music” is not a Christmas movie and “My Favourite Things” is not a Christmas song, how can I be upset when it’s one of my most favourite movies of all time, just like Joe? This time of year where we need the light the most, we make it for ourselves in the lights we decorate with and in the way we choose to spend our time. We spend it with one another, thankful to have survived another year together, and looking forward to what lies ahead. The Christmas Market is able to capture this spirit through a different lens than we usually see, opening up a whole new avenue for Christmas stories yet to come.

The Christmas Market runs in the Studio Theatre at Streetcar Crowsnest until December 7. For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.crowstheatre.com/shows-events/the-christmas-market

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Cover Photo: Matthew G. Brown and Danté Prince in The Christmas Market. Image by Kenya Parsa.

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