A Christmas Carol
Though the theatre is small and doesn't offer the best possible properties, this was an absolutely brilliant
production; the cast's enthusiasm and genuinely good spirits brought a warmth and christmassy feel to the performance
that was quite magical.
The Fundus is a rectangular cellar room with white-washed stone arches in the middle and a relatively low ceiling.
There are relatively few seats, I'd say about a hundred altogether, two rows along the longer side and about six on
either of the short sides; this is, to me, reminiscent of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, where actors have to play to three sides
instead of just one, which tends to create more audience participation.
What I especially liked about this production was the attention to detail, to making the audience believe they were
in the middle of a London street, around 1900, that they were involved. That was achieved by the carol singer holding
up her 'penny for a carol' cloth and singing "Good King Wenceslas" to the audience, treating them like passers-by;
other than that, the cast walked around, talking, generally being Londoners of Charles Dicken's time.
I also found the choice of narrators to be brilliant, the whole cast would say bits and pieces, mostly lines taken
directly from the book I'd say. The changes in perspective as they passed on the story line from one to the other
helped further a dynamic image which might have been lost had only one person been standing there and reciting the
whole thing.
The roles were well chosen for each cast member, and the doubling worked brilliantly. I find that it's always those
little things that can make or break a performance. Especially when it is necessary to create the atmosphere of lots
of people and different characters.
Here, it was the simplicity of the costumes that helped. All of them, apart from the actress who played Tiny Tim/carol
singer/ladies, kept on their costumes, only changing overcoats and cloaks, putting on hats, gloves or scarves, and,
in case of the women, wearing their hair a little differently. It's amazing how diverse the results can be!
Another way to include the audience was that the "Ghost of Christmas Present" and her helpers went around with baskets
and gave sweets to the audience, while the rest of the cast were standing there with turkey and roast chestnuts and
buns (which weren't real, but nicely put together, they looked almost edible ;D) and singing 'Twelve Days of Christmas'.
In fact, the ghosts were done very well, with little pomp; Christmas Past and Present were both women (Laura
Mitchell, Marilyn Wallace), and both wore a white cloak with golden embroidery that was fastened in front; Christmas
Past wore a silvery crown, lovingly designed and Christmas Present with a wreath of (I believe) mistletoe and holly.
The Ghost of Christmas Future (Don Fenner) wore black gloves and a black cloak, you could never see his face and the
lighting was subdued, dingy, and haunting to complement the feeling of desperation and anxiety.
Right at the end, the cast stood in the middle of their 'stage', facing the longer side of the room and sang
"O Christmas Tree" (I'd never heard the English version before ;D), then asked the audience to join in for the
song's German version.
The play was full of Christmas Carols, performed very well throughout, for example, for Fezziwig's Christmas party
the audience was treated to "Deck the Halls", which was particularly well interpreted.
The actress playing Tiny Tim and the carol singer (Sabine Kranzelbinder) had a marvellous voice, as had the guy who
did played Bob Cratchit (Brian Bartely). Scrooge (Michael Lopez) was very good, I must say I liked him best when he
was grumpy ;D. His half-crazed laugh on discovering he hadn't missed Christmas though, that was something else.
Very infectious, and his cavorting about happily brought a smile to my face, the enthusiasm and joy he exuded were
palpable.
Another one of those beautiful details was how Scrooge's coming home and seeing Marley's face instead of the knocker
was staged. The five younger women and men were standing in a V-shape, facing the audience. First the guy on the left
would say a line, then the guy opposite him on the right, then a woman on the left, then one on the right, till they
came to the outmost point of the V.
After Marley's face was announced, all five dropped to their knees, revealing the actor doing Marley (Don Fenner)
who'd stood behind them all the while, who had a red spotlight shining directly into his face, with the rest of the
lights dimmed. When the door 'reappeared', the five performers simply stood up, then stepped aside as Scrooge 'entered'
through the door.
The lighting was marvellous, intricately thought out and used to best advantage. They didn't have fancy gobos, merely
spotlights, strategically placed around the perimetre of the room, and differently coloured light (blue, red, yellowish,
white), but they worked fantastically with them.
For the night scenes and ghostly atmosphere they used a dim bluish glow; it was a very harsh light blue light actually,
with a touch of white, which looked great against the stark white pillars. Streetlamps were 'turned on' by one of the
actors with a stick who held it up to the small spotlights around the stage area, which started to glow yellow after a
while - quite an ingenious touch.
For most scenes, there was a yellowish wash with bits of white, though nothing trailed onto a specific person usually,
since the spotlights couldn't be moved as far as I could see. However, the 'full-blown' lighting created a blending of
shadows in the room that helped to convey an atmosphere that drew the audience into the story.
As for 'candles', they used the real thing when called upon, and, when Scrooge lit a candle in his bedroom, the
lighting was turned on a little to create a soft yellowish glow. Very nice touch. Other than that, Scrooge's name
was, as far as I could see, projected onto the gravestone with a spotlight, which, in my opinion, is not only a
great idea, but furthers the 'ghostly image' it is wont to create.
This was easily one of the nicest productions I've seen in a while, and I hope to be able to catch it again next year ;D.
CAST (due to the doubling, I will add the roles played beside the performer's names)
Ladawn Sheffield: a young street vendor - Belle - Martha Cratchit - Mrs. Fred
Laura Mitchell: a trull - first lady solicitor - Christmas Past - Mrs. Cratchit - Fred's guest
Jonathan Sharp: a pickpocket - Fred - young Scrooge - Peter Cratchit - Ignorance - turkey boy
Brian Bartely: a lamplighter - Bob Cratchit - Dick Wilkins - topper
Don Fenner: man selling programs - Jacob Marley - Mr. Fezziwig - Fred's guest - Christmas Future - Ol' Joe
Marilyn Wallace: old beggar lady - second lady solicitor - Mrs. Fezziwig - Christmas Present - Mrs. Dilber
Sabine Kranzelbinder: carol girl - fan - tiny Tim - Fred's guest - Want
Michael Lopez: Ebenezer Scrooge
Directed, adapted and designed by Don Fenner
Costumes by Gloria Sattél and Laura Mitchell
Lights and sound by Dominic King
Props - Laura Mitchell
~ A Short History ~
International Theatre, founded by William and Marilyn Wallace, originated as a tour company making its initial
appearance in Graz at the Heimatsaal on November 14, 1974.
The play was Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" and it was designated to begin travels throughout Austria, Germany and
Hungary.
In 1979 International Theatre moved from one end of the Porzellangasse in 1090 Vienna to the other and the
Porzellangasse 8 became International Theatre's permanent home. Seeing the theater today and remembering the
warehouse it was is still hard to imagine.
On January 14, 1980, in one of Vienna's worst snow storms, International Theatre opened its doors with Paul Zindel's
"The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon-Marigolds". Since then more than 100 productions have been put on
including plays like "A Christmas Carol", "Our Town", "Happy Days", "The Mousetrap", "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf"
etc. etc. etc.
The second theater, The Fundus, premiered in may of 1990 with Marsha Norman's "Night Mother".
From the theatre's official website: http://www.internationaltheatre.at/.
Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to me at
ferngully_at@yahoo.com.