The Show, December 17, 2012

Sarah Wilson, Deborah Drakeford, Joseph Ziegler, Maggie Huculak & 

Sabrina Nardi (photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann)

Yes, we've had a little fun with it (see our comic here) and it IS all over the place. But there is a reason A Christmas Carol is a staple and it's not just because Soulpepper does a goddam good job with their annual production. (Read our review) Beyond the beautifully drawn characters, the archetypes and the dark atmosphere of tragedy-in-waiting (which is swept away, thank keeerist!), is a tale that resonates more harshly today than ever before. The gulf between the haves and have-nots is growing and Dickens would be mortified to come back, 150 years later, and see that we have learned nothing from the lessons of the industrial revolution (the last time technology created a pauper-class). He would see in the CEOs of our corporations the miserliness of his Scrooge, he would see that as a society we seem to despise children as much as we did then (thank you America and Mr. Harper for our lax gun laws). He would see that we are, again, in a world where bleak times await those who do not heed the spirit of the season. You don't need to call it Christmas. Call it "Bringing our neighbours in from the cold and misery". Ask not for whom the ghosts come - they come for thee.