Perth Voice Interactive

WHAT would have happened if Charles Dickens had met fellow Englishman Henry Cole, the inventor of the modern day Christmas card, while writing A Christmas Carol?

Perhaps Marley’s ghost would have spent the rest of eternity lugging around a sack of Hallmark cards?

This fascinating idea was the catalyst for A Dickens of a Christmas, a costumed radio play to be performed at St George’s Cathedral.

In keeping with the season of goodwill, all proceeds from the performance will be used to buy food hampers for the homeless at Christmas, through the Give A Feed charity.

A Dickens of a Christmas was written by esteemed playwright Jenny Davis OAM, who likes to take real-life historical events and gave them a fictional twist.

“In this case, I do not know if Charles Dickens and Henry Cole (the first publisher of a Christmas card) actually met in real life, but it’s perfectly possible, given the London of that time and Dickens’ fame and popularity,” Davis says.

“The fact is that in December 1843, Dickens penned and published A Christmas Carol, which has often been considered as seminal to the spirit of Christmas as we understand it today – a time of giving and sharing and goodwill.

“At the same time, Henry Cole, designer of stamps for the Royal Mail in Great Britain, created and marketed a Christmas card.

“I like to think that he was in the habit of already sending messages by post to friends at Christmas and hit on the idea of making it simple for others to do the same, thus also spreading the message of goodwill.”

This intriguing story will be brought to life by a philanthropic bunch of actors from the Theatre 180 company including Isaac Diamond, Katie Keady, Benj D’Addario and Saskia Haluszkiewicz.

Davis says the play tries to get inside Dickens’ head and see what made him tick.

“We meet Charles in conversation with others in his circle and his family. Conversations that shed some light on the ardent desire for social justice that pervades his work, his personality, and the circumstances that appear to have influenced the creation of A Christmas Carol. 

“Every Christmas after its publication, Dickens would give a dramatic reading of the story in a theatre – a hugely popular event, since he was by all accounts a very effective performer. 

“And so, in A Dickens of a Christmas, our Charles Dickens then begins to read the tale and other actors join to bring it to life.”

Adding to the fantastic atmosphere in St George’s Cathedral will be festive music from the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Ukrainian Choir, and the founder of Freeze Frame Opera, Harriet Marshall.

There will also be a special performance by the Perth Undergraduate Choral Society, who will debut a new Christmas carol composed by indigenous opera singer Deborah Cheetham-Fraillon.

The Society was selected by ABC Radio National to perform the new work, which has a Christmas card-theme.

In keeping with the spirit of Christmas, all actors and musicians in the production are working for free to help raise funds for Give A Feed.

Founded in 2011, the Perth charity has helped more than 30,000 WA families in need and raised more than $900,000.

This year it hopes to provide more than 4000 festive hampers to WA families so they can celebrate Xmas with their loved ones.

Davis, who this week received a State Cultural Treasure Award for her lifelong contribution to the arts, says Christmas should be a time for reflection and humanity, especially with wars raging around the world. 

“Writing a Christmas play does involve a certain amount of sentiment, but it isn’t necessary when writing it to regard the world through rose tinted glasses, it’s simply an opportunity to look for the humanity in everyone, even the unlikely, and celebrate it.”

A Dickens of a Christmas is on at 7pm, Friday December 13 at St George’s Cathedral, 38 St Georges Terrace, Perth. Tickets at trybooking.com. 

by STEPHEN POLLOCK