Ronnie Burkett's puppets bring a raucous twist to A Christmas Carol at the Grand Theatre
Little Dickens is on until Dec. 9
Master puppeteer Ronnie Burkett is bringing his ensemble of playful puppets to the Grand Theatre in London, Ont., for an improvised twist on the classic story A Christmas Carol with Little Dickens.
"The idea for Little Dickens was late in a hotel room on tour, and I thought of the title, and it made me laugh, so I emailed a presenter that I worked with for years and said I've got a really stupid idea," said Burkett, who pitched the idea to have the cast of his Daisy Theatre perfom the show.
"By 10 o'clock the next morning, they booked it for a month-long run and it was supposed to be a one off. And now, I'm doing it every December because people just love this bit of nonsense."
While Little Dickens is based on the story of Ebenezer Scrooge who, spoiler alert, is shown his transgressions and is transformed into a kinder, gentler person, this character is a woman.
"Ebenezer is our faded star Esmé Massengill, who's a drunken, abusive, has-been showgirl," said Burkett. "She's quite popular in The Daisy Theatre, so I thought it would be interesting if she was the one who had to go through a night of past sorrows and come to redemption."
LISTEN | Ronnie Burkett talks about creating Little Dickens on CBC London Morning:
While Burkett carries the nearly two-hour adults-only show with his puppets, Little Dickens also relies on mandatory audience participation, including getting people on stage to take part in the storytelling.
"The nice thing about A Christmas Carol is while we may not all know the fine points, we do know it's a story about someone who's miserable, going through the night, visited by three spirits, who changes and has a redemption. So as long as the audience knows the basis of it, then they can come along for the ride and fill in those blanks."
The performance is on at the Grand until Dec. 9 on the Auburn Stage.
For showtimes and tickets, visit the Grand Theatre's website. Audience members must be at least 16 years old.
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