You know it’s time for the holidays with Theatre Calgary’s 38th annual production of the timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s path to redemption in A Christmas Carol.
It’s a classic story of hope that changes slightly from year to year, but stays true to the original story, according to associate director and resident voice and dialect coach Jane MacFarlane.
MacFarlane has been a part of the delivery of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at Theatre Calgary for years, even having played the role of Mrs. Cratchit in 2001/2002.
“We have to remember that some people are coming to see this for the first time, so it’s up to us to make the story fresh for each other,” she told LWC.
“So that’s to really tell the story again to each other, and to remember what the points are about why we’re telling this. I think you forget how much this play or story can resonate.”
It’s the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey into the past, present and future with the guidance of ghosts from each era. They show him the impact of his actions, offering him a chance to redeem himself with those around him.
She said that sometimes when you hear the things that come out of Scrooge’s mouth, you stop and say, “we’ve heard this somewhere else.”
“When the world feels dark, we need to be reminded that there is hope. So, it’s sort of those things that we remind ourselves, each of us involved, 20 people on stage and four understudies, and we have to remind each other what the story is and that we’re sharing it with an audience,” she said.
Opening night for the show comes up Nov. 28, with Doug McKeag returning to this year’s show to play Scrooge, with Stafford Arima the show’s director. A Christmas Carol runs until Dec. 31. Tickets may still be available for this year’s show.
Dialing in the dialect
MacFarlane works with all of the actors on the dialect, with the story set in Victorian England. She said the voice is ultimately a part of the character.
That how she describes it to the younger actors she works with who are trying to literally and figuratively find a voice of their own on stage.
“It’s the same process as you’re learning about acting; you’re inhabiting a character, and this just happens to be the way they sound,” she said.
This show tends to be family-focused, which lends itself to a little more flexibility in the dialect, and isn’t necessarily meant to be perfect, MacFarlane said.
“It’s not the world’s most perfect British dialect, or what we call received pronunciation in my world. So, the Received Pronunciation is the BBC dialect, so it’s the learned dialect,” she said.
“This one is a bit more flexible and a bit more open, because dialect just needs to put us in time and place.”
While the show has been running in Calgary for 38 years, the message of Scrooge’s personal journey still resonates deeply with audiences, MacFarlane said.
I think we all hit points in our lives where things can’t – I’m obviously talking about older people who come to see it – that we might have made bad choices or bad decisions, but there’s always hope, and the hope that he can change,” she said.
“(Scrooge) changes, so there’s an opportunity for us to make the right choice and change.”
She said even the young students who come to watch the show get swept up in a different world that still carries an important message.
“They’re too cool for school when they come in, and then they’re caught in the story,” MacFarlane said.
“I think it is that the fear of making the wrong choice and someone getting hurt, like Tim, but that you can affect change for the positive. I think that’s the story.”
A Christmas Carol plays at the Max Bell Theatre at the Werklund Centre (formerly Arts Commons).
Photos from A Christmas Carol – 2025
