Renowned Stratford performers to stage dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in support of Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth

Charles Dickens at a reading of A Christmas Carol.

Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Although at this time of year there is no shortage of performances featuring portrayals of Ebenezer Scrooge and his epiphanous, midnight meetings with three ghosts who help him discover the true meaning of Christmas, there is one such performance in Stratford unlike all others.

On Dec. 7, former CBC host and Stratford resident Judy Maddren is once again producing her annual dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at Avondale United Church beginning at 7 p.m. While the story may stay the same, the characters in the annual rendition, staged as a benefit in support of Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth, are brought to life in new and exciting ways each year by a new slate of talented, Stratford actors, singers and orators, including someone recognizable by most Stratford residents – and people from further afield – as host.

“I’m so glad I asked (Stratford Summer Music founder) John Miller to be host because he sure knows his way around this stuff,” Maddren said recently. “It is the first time he’s hosted; he was a reader two years ago and was very engaging. Then I thought, ‘John Miller would just be the best spokesperson for this.’ … We had quite a discussion this morning about questions he had and ideas he had, so it’s pretty great.”

Joining Miller onstage as readers this year are Stratford Festival favourites Laura CondlIn, Jonathan Goad, Kevin Kruchkywich and André Sills, as well as Here For Now Theatre founder Fiona Mongillo and Maddren herself. Actor and vocalist Marcus Nance, also a festival favourite, will join the Flight Children’s Choir, directed by Brooke Dufton, to provide musical elements that complement the story.

“You always have a list of the people you know will do a good job and you’d love to have read, and there were a couple of people I contacted who weren’t going to be in town,” Maddren said. “But everyone else we reached out to said yes and they have just been so helpful and so positive, and I haven’t actually met some of them, so I’m really looking forward to that.

“(The musical component) was John Miller’s idea. He said, ‘Why don’t you contact the Flight School and find out if the children’s choir can take part?’ … You might have seen Brooke Dufton perform as part of Stratford Summer Music in 2015 or 2016. … It was seven in the morning, there was a choir and she stepped into a canoe on the far shore, away from everyone on Tom Patterson Island, and she sang as someone paddled her across the still waters. It was just magical. Now, Brooke is the choir director for the Flight School. She’s an accomplished soprano and she is going to sing with Marcus Nance, and Marcus is going to do a solo because he’s quite an accomplished singer, too – and the choir, about 14 children. So, I think it’s going to be a wonderful component. Christmas is about children … so they’ll be part of it.”

The program includes a 15-minute intermission, during which guests can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and purchase raffle tickets for a beautifully curated basket, valued at over $1,000, generously donated by the merchants of Albert Street. Rotary Hospice is also grateful to event sponsors Jeff Leney and John Wolfe, and Dan and Carolyn Mathieson, whose support helps make this community event possible.

Maddren says producing this dramatic reading each year in support of the hospice is near and dear to her heart. Not only was her husband, Tim Elliott, involved in the first community-based hospice in Canada, but Maddren’s mother received hospice care in Stratford in 2024. Now, Maddren and Elliott’s daughter, Pippa Elliott, works for the local hospice as marketing and communications coordinator, meaning supporting the hospice and the care it provides for palliative patients and their loved ones is truly a family affair.   

“That has just added to my appreciation for what the people at the hospice do,” Maddren said.

“Working in an office where empathy is the most important characteristic is quite something,” Pippa Elliott added.

Tickets for A Christmas Carol are $50 each and all proceeds go to support hospice operations and its mission to provide warmth, dignity and comfort at end of life. To purchase tickets, visit rotaryhospice.ca/a-christmas-carol.

Located in a residential neighbourhood and surrounded by green space, Rotary Hospice offers 24-hour palliative care, 365 days a year, in a home-like setting, all at no cost to the individual or their loved ones. Cared for by compassionate and qualified staff and volunteers, Rotary Hospice residents are given the gift of precious time to spend together, while the clinical care team takes on the role of caregiver.

For more information about Rotary Hospice, visit www.rotaryhospice.ca or contact Lucie Stuart, director of fund development and stewardship, at 519-508-4900 ext. 720 or lucie@rotaryhospice.ca.