Charles Dickens used to tour the world, reading his books to a captivated audience.
He spent years performing, both for money and enjoyment.
And even today, though Dickens is long dead, dramatic readings of his works live on.
Locally, the Quesnel and District Arts Council (QDAC) and Quesnel Live Arts (QLA) have teamed up to bring A Christmas Carol to town. The show, a dramatic reading, will feature six prominent local readers and a small, six-person choir to perform in between staves.
The book is divided into six staves, with each reader reading one stave.
Barb Hanes, the co-director/producer of the reading, says the readers have been practicing since September.
“It’s a fantastic show,” she says. “The choir and the readers are putting 100 per cent into it, and it’ll be just a bang up show.”
Amongst the six readers are Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson, Don Peake Voute, Corry Climenhage, Jeff Dinsdale, Colleen Gauthier and Sharon MacDonald.
The CBC’s Betsy Trumpener will be hosting the evening.
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“So, they’re not actually memorizing, they’re reading,” says Hanes. “And so they’ll be standing at a podium, a lectern, and reading it, but they’re putting their own personality into it, and that’s exactly what we want.”
The entire show will take just two hours, with a fifteen minute intermission.
All the proceeds from the show will go toward fundraising efforts of QDAC and QLA toward a new performing arts centre. Hanes says the groups are still working toward building a performing arts centre in Quesnel, for everyone, regardless of age, to make use of.
“It’s our hope, our wish, our dream,” says Hanes.
She says they are also looking for someone to film the reading for them on Dec. 13. Anyone interested in filming it can get in touch with Colleen Brines of QDAC at colleenbrines@shaw.ca.
The show will take place on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Northstar Church on Northstar Road. Tickets are available in advance at Green Tree Health, KMAX, The Occidental and Save On Foods.
heather.norman@quesnelobserver.com
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