Rod Beattie returns to perform his one-man adaptation of A Christmas Carol at museum

Rod Beattie in character as a little Cratchit child, one of his favourites to perform. Beattie will be performing his adaptation of A Christmas Carol Dec. 21, 22 and 23.

The now beloved tradition of Rod Beattie’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol is returning to the Stratford Perth Museum for three performances in December. This one-man show is riveting to children and adults alike as Beattie masterfully transforms into each of the characters driving the story before the audience’s eyes.

While this adaptation has been performed for the better part of 10 years, this will be the third time at the museum. The adaptation is genuine to Charles Dickens’ text leaving Beattie with the onerous responsibility of giving life to characters known by generations all by himself.

He does this in an evolving manner by casting each character as an actor well-known to him and has found himself recasting as time passes and it seems truer to the character. For example, Jacob Marley is now based on the famous actor Richard Burton for the past year.

“From time to time, the actors that claim the characters change, or evolve. I have models in my head for the characters, apart from the narrator, who is me. The characters are played by various British actors, usually, and from time to time they switch parts because it seems to me that they are more appropriate for one part than for another. I don’t know how much the audience will get, but it’s a lot of fun for me,” said Beattie.

Some characters will be familiar to those who have had the pleasure of attending a performance of A Christmas Carol, as one that has not changed since the beginning of the adaptation is the Ghost of Christmas Past. Could that be the voice of Sir John Gielgud? Beattie’s skill at embodying each character is something not to be missed.

Adapting the novel to a play provided an opportunity of new discoveries from the memories he had as a child when his father used to read the story to him over five nights, a stave each night. As an adult, he found that Scrooge is often portrayed as a monster and evil, but instead, found inspiration in the Alistair Sim film version.

“Sim doesn’t play him as a monster, he plays him as a damaged, but pretty ordinary person and I hadn’t thought of that. But I thought reading to do it as a play, I thought Alistair Sim is right about that, Scrooge is not a man who is wicked or evil, or mal intentioned towards people. He is an ordinary, very good businessman who has had two major tragedies in his life; losing his sister and the love of his life and it has scarred him. He no longer has faith in human nature, and he doesn’t have a whole lot of faith in himself,” said Beattie.

The character he finds the most challenging to embody is Tiny Tim, because, as Beattie said, “He’s far more pure than I am.” Secretly, his favourite characters to perform are the noisy little Cratchit children, who are terribly enthusiastic.

Some call this tale the greatest redemption story of all time, and this never ceases to impress and move him. “It’s hard to explain, but if you do it justice, take the whole journey and don’t cut corners and give everything the value it deserves in the text, it surprises you. You can read it 500 times and still that happens, it’s a miracle.”

A Christmas Carol is a sentimental story that brings out all the best of the season, hope, harmony and love. Performing it is a great privilege and one that means a lot to Beattie.

“I think it is something that is worth everyone experiencing once a year and it reminds you of a different time, and it’s a time at the end of the year for taking stock, but also time for reminding ourselves that we can be better than we are and the spirit of Christmas is something that can help us do that,” concluded Beattie.

Tickets for the performance are available now by visiting stratfordperthmuseum.ca, visiting the museum in-person between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven-days-a-week, or by calling 519-393-5311. Dates of the performances are Dec. 21 at 4 p.m., and Dec. 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the evening will support the House of Blessing and the museum.

For those unable to make it to the museum to see Beattie live in-person, he is performing A Christmas Carol online via Zoom on Christmas Eve at 6 p.m., with proceeds going to the Kiwanis Festival of Performing Arts. Details can be found at www.kiwanisfestivalstratford.com/events.