When Shake & Stir announced their annual production of A Christmas Carol was heading to Canberra instead of staying in its home city of Brisbane last year, there was outrage from Queenslanders.
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The theatre company received angry emails from Brisbanites claiming that the move to the capital had ruined Christmas. Others gave in and just booked a trip to Canberra to keep their traditional trip to the theatre alive, hoping that it would return to Brisbane for its 2023 edition.
Luckily for Queenslanders - and Canberrans who are keen to create their own tradition - Shake & Stir has managed to swing it so that both cities get a chance to see the 2023 production, with tickets going on sale for the Canberra Theatre run on Thursday.
For Shake & Stir artistic director Nelle Lee it will be the first time since she adapted the Charles Dickens novella that she will see it performed in the capital. Not just from behind the scenes, but in the role of Mrs Cratchett - a part that she was unable to step into last year as she was touring with Shake & Stir's production of Jane Eyre.
Like many people across the world, though, A Christmas Carol is a story that Lee keeps returning to every festive season - on and off the stage.
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"It's the ultimate internal transformation storyline, everyone loves a transformation," she said.
"I think that Scrooge goes through such a journey. And I think it's a good reminder for us to, regardless of what you believe in, no matter what your faith, what your religion, what you believe in, the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of holidays is about love and family and humanity.
"A lot of the time, it's so easy to forget about that and to end up focusing on the wrong things, the superficial things. And when you leave the theatre, or when you finish the book, you're reminded but you don't feel guilty about it, you feel empowered by it. And you feel enthused and energetic by it because he does go on this beautiful journey as a human and manages to just get in there in the nick of time, before Christmas Day."
When the idea for Shake & Stir to do a theatre production of A Christmas Carol first landed on the table, Lee jumped at the opportunity to be the one who adapted it.
Having read the story every Christmas since high school - and watched different film versions including The Muppet's Christmas Carol before that - she knew the story inside and out.
"One of the biggest challenges, especially when you're dealing with classics that have stood the test of time and are so well loved by millions across the world, it's just really making sure you do it justice, and you're maintaining the integrity of the book whilst still bringing it to life on stage," Lee said.
"And there's always things that you have to tweak and massage to make it fit a theatrical medium. But we're also very careful with the books that we choose to adapt to the stage because we always want to make sure that it is something that is going to work and something that is going to breathe life into it again, and give it a fresh new feel for audiences."
A Christmas Carol is at the Canberra Theatre Centre from December 19 to 24. Tickets from canberratheatrecentre.com.au
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