If you want to be swept away to a Victorian Aberdeen in the company of Ebenezer Scrooge all you have to do is listen – and use your imagination.
A haunting new audio play version of Charles Dickens’ classic will premiere on air this Sunday December 18 on SHMU radio – then be available for everyone to enjoy through the P&J website from Monday, in a project which supports The Big Christmas Food Appeal and Aberdeen Warm Spaces.
And two of the stars of this glorious new audioplay initiative, the brainchild of local theatre company Ten Feet Tall, say it will not only spread joy and giving this Christmas, but also help people rediscover the art of listening.
“Radio is about listening and creating a world with your eyes closed,” said Aberdeen’s own Joyce Falconer, who plays the Ghost Of Christmas Past.
“It’s a wonderful medium, you can use your imagination and you have an input into the creativity of the story, which I love.”
An Aberdeen Christmas Carol will bring everyone together
“From an audience point of view, I do think this is important because we live in such a visual world, with everybody looking on screens nowadays… the art of listening is being destroyed. So I would encourage folks to listen and let their children listen.”
Kern Falconer, who plays Scrooge, also hopes the show will bring people together across the north-east at this special time of the year with a story that, while relocated to Aberdeen, is faithful to Dickens’ original.
“Dickens’ original idea was to get the Victorians to change from the massive Christmas do at the manor and getting that back into people’s houses,” said Kern.
“That’s exactly what we’re doing. We are going directly into people’s front rooms for Christmas. I suppose there will be many of them that in today’s world won’t have much of a Christmas – if we can contribute to making that better, then all good and well.”
Delighted to support Big Christmas Food Appeal and Warm Spaces
Which is why both Kern and Joyce are delighted that An Aberdeen Christmas Carol – which is free to listen to – is supporting two worthy causes. Listeners are being asked to contribute what they can to the Big Christmas Food Appeal and the city council’s Aberdeen Warm Spaces initiative.
The Big Christmas Food Appeal sees the Press and Journal, Evening Express, Original 106 and Energy Voice team up to raise vital cash and donations for our charity partner Cfine.
Both Joyce and Kern urged people to give what they can to the two good causes.
“A Christmas Carol, more than any other Christmas story, is about the simple thing about kindness and giving,” said Joyce.
Both actors thoroughly enjoyed the process of recording An Aberdeen Christmas Carol at SHMU, along with a cast of amateur actors who took part in workshops run by Ten Feet Tall.
“I think the idea of doing a radio play is excellent, getting it out there with free access and giving people some Christmas cheer in these hard times – not far from Dickens’s time to be perfectly honest.”
Six-year-old Paige shines as Tiny Tim in An Aberdeen Christmas Carol
The producer of An Aberdeen Christmas Carol, Cameron Mowat, also hopes the people of the north-east will enjoy the production while doing what they can to support The Big Christmas Food Appeal and Warm Spaces.
“It’s been really exciting doing the recording part of it, we’re busy doing the editing and we are excited to share it with the public, finally,” said Cameron, adding local musicians, The Little Kicks, The Capollos and Florence Jack have recorded their versions of Christmas songs as “musical interludes” for the audio play.
As well as having the professional skills of both Kern and Joyce, An Aberdeen Christmas Carol has a new star in the making, six-year-old Paige Christie, who is playing Tiny Tim.
“She put the professionals to shame because she had her lines learned,” said Cameron. “We chose her because she sent in her voice clip and when she came to say Merry Christmas, you just hear and feel the smile she clearly had on her face.
“Paige brought in her cuddly teddy bear toy into the studios and delivered her lines to her best friend.”
People will respond to Aberdeen Christmas Carol’s spirit of giving
Cameron said the recording process was “amazing” with more than 20 people crossing the threshold of the studio – with Kern, in particular, getting a “full workout” as Scrooge goes from the depths of despair to the joy of Christmas.
“The story is all about taking Scrooge on a journey and the audience on that journey. The story is about community, bringing people together and thinking of others. Hopefully, that aligns with what the majority of people want to be listening to and engaging with at Christmas.”
And he hopes people will respond to that spirit of giving.
“With the rising cost of living, The Big Christmas Food Appeal and Aberdeen Warm Spaces are supporting those who need it the most and addressing poverty in our region,” he said.
“It’s about providing basic essentials to people who really need them at this time and if we can do that through storytelling and leaning on the themes of A Christmas Carol, it’s a valuable thing for us to be doing.”
Cameron hopes that this project – supported by the council’s Creative Funding scheme – could become an annual event.
“We have lots of stories that would fit this format perfectly in terms of an audio play, It’s A Wonderful Life, for example,” he said.
How to listen to An Aberdeen Christmas Carol with SHMU and P&J
For now, Cameron hopes people tune in to SHMU FM – 99.8 FM at 7pm on Sunday December 18 to listen to An Aberdeen Christmas Carol, then listen from Monday through the P&J website.
For more information on An Aberdeen Christmas Carol and Ten Feet Tall Theatre, visit tenfeettalltheatre.com
Look out for details on how to enjoy An Aberdeen Christmas Carol via the P&J website on Monday.
The Big Christmas Food Appeal
Throughout 2022, the Big Food Appeal team has been working hard to debunk some of the myths around foodbanks and make it as easy as possible for people to get help.
For the festive period, we’ve teamed up again with Cfine to collect donations – both financial and food – as the charity serves the whole of Grampian and the Highlands.
As well as donating through our JustGiving page, there’s an Amazon shopping list or a number of drop-off points in Aberdeen and Inverness.
We’re also keen to highlight the work of groups working tirelessly to support their communities this winter.
Get involved with The Big Christmas Food Appeal
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