A Christmas Carol Study Guide Prepared by: Meghan O’Hara Education & Outreach Coordinator, Grand Theatre Grandtheatre.com | 1.519.672.9030| 471 richmond street, London on | @thegrandlondon 2 Who’s Who? Cast Bob Cratchit Sean Arbuckle Spirit of Christmas Past Jahlen Barnes Tiny Tim Owen Barteet Young Scrooge/Martha Cratchit Anna Bartlam Belinda Cratchit Annie Cornish Peter Cratchit Emma Cuzzocrea Girl Scrooge Riley Deluca Woman Scrooge Ellen Denny Fred Aidan Desalaiz Mrs. Dilber Nikki Duval Fan Isabella Espanol Mrs. Fezziwig Tracey Ferencz Mrs. Cratchit Rachel Jones Dick Wilkins Michael Man Jacob Marley Patrick Monaghan Spirit of Christmas Future David Michael Moote Mr. Fezziwig Steve Ross Scrooge Jan Alexandra Smith Topper Geoffrey Tyler Abigail Amaka Umeh Spirit of Christmas Present Blythe Wilson 3 Production team Director Megan Watson Original Director Dennis Garnhum Set designer Allan Stichbury Costume Designer Kelly Wolf Lighting Designer Bonnie Beecher Videographer Jamie Nesbitt Composer Jeremy Spencer Sound designer Jim Neil Music and Vocal Coach Mark Payne Voice and Dialect Coach Jane Gooderham Choreographer Kerry Gage Skating Choreographer Geoffrey Tyler Stage Manager Kelly Luft Assistant Stage Manager Jordan Guetter 4 A Christmas Carol: An Overview Scrooge is a wealthy business owner. Her business partner, Jacob Marley, has died, and Scrooge has alienated herself from family and refuses to allow any festivity or happiness into her life. Scrooge’s poisonous outlook infects all those around her—her employee, Bob Cratchit, lives a life of poverty, working in fear of his employer’s sharp temper and ill mood, and attempting to maintain a positive worldview for the sake of his family, and especially his disabled son, Tiny Tim. On one fateful Christmas Eve, the course of Scrooge’s life is changed immensely when she is visited by the ghost of her former business partner, Jacob Marley. Appearing in chains that represent all of the wrong actions of Marley’s life, he warns Scrooge that her selfish behaviour and lack of empathy for other people during life will lead to an afterlife of punishment and atonement. Marley foretells the coming of three additional ghosts, Past, Present, and Future, who visit over the course of the night. One by one, the ghosts show Scrooge her youthful and optimistic past self, the effects of poverty on the Cratchit family’s holiday preparations, and a future in which, rather than mourning Scrooge’s death, people profit from and celebrate it. Having been shown these visions, Scrooge experiences a change of heart, repentant of her past actions and eager to make reparations, which she does by purchasing a turkey for the Cratchit family’s Christmas dinner, as well as raising Bob Cratchit’s salary, donating money to charity workers whom she had denied and spurned the day before, and finally joining her own family for Christmas celebrations. Scrooge design and artwork by Scott McKowen. Photos by Claus Andersen. 5 Who Was Charles Dickens? Born on 7 February 1812 in Portsmouth, England, Charles Dickens did not have an exceptionally happy or good-fortuned childhood. In 1822, Dickens’ education was interrupted when his family moved to London for his father’s job as a pay clerk in the Dockyards. In late 1823, at age 11, Dickens was forced to start work in a blacking factory—which manufactured shoe polish—labelling bottles. In 1824, Dickens’s father was imprisoned for not repaying his debts. Both of these humiliating experiences informed Dickens’s future stories, specifically David Copperfield and Great Expectations. After finishing his education at age 15, Dickens went on to pursue journalism. He became a freelance reporter, and then in 1833, he became a parliamentary journalist for The Morning Chronicle. These new connections in the publishing industry meant that Dickens could begin publishing Photo of Charles Dickens by Jeremiah narrative sketches, which he authored under the pseudonym, Boz. In 1836, Gurney, source: Heritage Auction Gallery he married Catherine Hogarth. In that same month, Dickens published The Pickwick Papers, which became wildly successful due to its portrayal of the antics of Cockney sportsmen. The Pickwick Papers, like many of Dickens’ works, was published in a serial format, meaning that sections of the story were published monthly. These serialized stories were the Victorian version of a television show—readers would wait anxiously for the next installment to be published. Following the success of The Pickwick Papers, Dickens published other great serial works: in 1838came Oliver Twist; in 1839, Nicholas Nickleby; and in 1841 The Old Curiosity Shop. Following these three works, Dickens wrote several novels which were not immediately popular, such as Barnaby Rudge in 1841, and Martin Chuzzlewit in 1842. However, the publication of his short story, A Christmas Carol, in 1843 revived his popularity among British readers. In addition to writing several other short stories, some of which were also intended as Christmas stories, in the later 1840s, Dickens began to write serial novels again. In 1846, he published Dombey and Son, and in 1849, David Copperfield. These works represented a shift towards more complex and serious storylines. In 1850, he became the joint owner and editor of Household Worlds. Throughout the 1850s, Dickens wrote several of his most famous works, Curriculum including Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, and A Tale of Two Cities. His final three Corner novels were penned in the 1860s: Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend, and The Language: the biogr - Mystery of Edwin Drood, which remained unfinished due to Dickens’ death in aphical information given 1870. He is buried at London’s Westminster Abbey, the church which has here offers necessary context famously hosted coronations and royal weddings in England since 1066. that will help students orient themselves to A Christmas Carol, Sources: https://www.bl.uk/people/charles-dickens and will offer them a deeper understanding http://www.dickensfellowship.org/life-charles-dickens http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/dickens_charles.shtml of the Dickens’ perspective in writing this narrative. 6 Victorian London: A History The “Victorian age” is the name given to the period of time during which Queen Victoria ruled in Britain, from 1837 to 1901. This was, in many ways, a golden age for modern Britain. By the end of Victoria’s reign, the British Empire covered approximately one-fifth of the Earth’s surface area, and one quarter of the world’s population could be counted as British subjects. The Victorian period is well-known for advancing British society in technology, science, medicine, and manufacturing. The period Photo by Alexander Bassano, 1886. also produced some of the greatest works of British literature. Along with Dickens, Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Lewis Carroll, Christina and Dante Gabriel Rosetti, and George Eliot were all Map with British Empire highlighted in red. 1897. Source: https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom Victorians. The Victorian period is typically understood to be a time of strict self-discipline: people were hardworking, religious, and family oriented. For the first time, childhood was recognized as a treasured and important period of time, and the child became established as a distinct and important role in the family unit. It was a time of immense change in Britain, with technological advances in transportation, manufacturing, and science transforming all aspects of daily life. During this period, London grew from 2 million inhabitants when Queen Victoria came to power to 6.5 million by the time of her death. However, these drastic changes and developments also led to economic uncertainty and poverty for many of England’s city dwellers. Curriculum Corner History - this section fosters students’ know- ledge about a specific past society (Victorian England), and helps them develop knowledge about those who lived during this historical time. For secondary level students, this section on the Victorian Period can enrich a discussion of 'Dickens's Victorian London' by Alex Werner and Tony Williams European history 7 Much of the Victorian period is marked by contrasts: the period is known for great discoveries, an optimism towards humanity’s potential, and immense prosperity. On the other hand, beneath this positive perspective on the Victorian period is a much darker reality: many of those who worked to make this era’s great advances possible were also suffering the most from poverty and other social problems. For example, while the 1832 Reform Bill of Parliament extended voting rights to men of the lower middle classes and represented a step towards equal rights, this positive change was tempered by the negative effects of the country’s Industrial Revolution: as manufacturing industries expanded, more workers were needed in order to operate the factories. This rising labour force meant that population in cities expanded rapidly, more quickly than housing and other services could keep up with. The result was poverty, poor living situations, dangerous working conditions, and other social problems. Source: Victoria & Albert Museum. Victorian Living For the upper and middle classes, this era was one of material consumption. The Industrial Revolution made consumer products more available and affordable for the middle classes, and the British Empire’s vast reach meant that exotic products from other parts of the world became available for British consumers. In short, what was once only available to the very wealthy was now present in every middle class Victorian home. The Victorian period also saw the middle classes acquiring domestic employees like maids, nurses, and cooks. At the other end of the spectrum, the lower classes suffered greatly to make possible the advances enjoyed by the upper and middle classes. Mills, mines, docks, and factories—the places responsible for creating or acquiring the goods the upper classes desired—proved to be not only unpleasant, but also dangerous working environments.