By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 23 (Nov. 21, 2019)
When most folks think of Christmas, we often think of candy canes and nativity scenes, reindeer and gingerbread men, Santa Clause and snowmen.
But Scrooge, that old English curmudgeon from Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, seems as much as the warp and woof of the season as anything else.
Mount Pearl’s Jim Healey will be donning the garb of the cantankerous old miser for the St. John’s Players production of A Christmas Carol— A Live Radio Drama.
But it’s not the first time; Healy’s very first role was as Scrooge in a 1975 high school production of the classic tale.
A shot from the 2017 NL Drama Festival production The Good Doctor by Neil Simon. Jim Healy as the narrator/Anton Chekov and Sandra Mills as the Woman. For the performance for which he was awarded the Honorary Chairman's Award for the best performance by a man.
44 years later, he’s a little closer in age to the character, and although he himself isn’t a miserly crank, he says it sure is it fun to play one on stage.
“Playing villains is fun. Because you get to be something you’re not,” said Healy, a mischievous gleam in his eye.
But this production has a bit of a meta twist.
Healy will be playing real-life actor Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke, best known for his performances in theatrical productions of Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw, as well as his portrayal of the Pharaoh Sethi alongside Charles Heston’s Moses in The Ten Commandments, who in turn will be playing the crabby crackpot in a radio version of A Christmas Carol.
So, if you need to recap, Healy is playing an actor who is playing Scrooge.
“In this particular production I’m a famous British actor who has come to St. John’s and somehow, I’ve been has been roped into playing Scrooge on the radio,” said Healy, who described the Hardwicke character as “a stuffy old British actor” type.
“He actually mentions in the script that this is a step down for him, having to do radio, because he’s been performing on a London stage and doing films in Hollywood for years.”
Healy said that it’s common in theatre for actors to paly both roles.
Dicken’s tale, first published in 1843, tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, who learns to be a kinder, gentler person after being haunted by the spirit of his former business partners and time travelling ghosts.
The original story sold out within days of its publication, and the story (and its protagonists) have been cemented in pop culture and holiday lore.
“The thing about A Christmas Carol is that the message is uplifting at the end. That even a miserable, miserly, skinflint like Scrooge can somehow be reformed and become good. It gives hope to all of us,” said Healy.
“People never get tired of uplifting messages.
“People want to have hope and optimism and cheer and brightness. And of course, what’s the best time of year for that? It’s Christmas.
“The message of hope is there, that even in the darkest of circumstances it is possible to turn things around.”
Healy meanwhile has been involved in over a hundred stage productions since first appearing on stage as Scrooge in 1975, as well as performing radio plays and commercials and with various choirs.
And while even the thought of performing on stage may turn some of us whiter than one of the ghosts in Dicken’s classic, for Healy it’s a thrill like none other.
“Whether the paly is serious, or a comedy, or it’s a combination of both, like we have here, there’s always that sense of joy and that sense of anticipation of being able to be able to perform in front of an audience.
“It still gives me a rush. And I’ve been doing theatre for 44 years.
“That why I keep coming back to theatre.”
If you are interested in theatre, but maybe a little nervous, Healy suggests maybe not auditioning for the lead role on your first shot.
“Start off with something small. Maybe you don’t want to be on stage right away. Maybe you should do something behind the scenes. Help out with costumes, or props or with set, or assistant the stage manager. Get a feel for it, get a feel for what its like.
“Come to rehearsals. See what the actors do. See that they enjoy it.”
He also added that line memorization isn’t quite as hard as people might think either.
