{"id":26173,"date":"2024-11-27T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/?p=26173"},"modified":"2024-11-21T13:02:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T21:02:38","slug":"wonderheads-bring-new-twist-to-old-christmas-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2024\/11\/27\/wonderheads-bring-new-twist-to-old-christmas-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"Wonderheads bring new twist to old Christmas tale"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Christmas Carol<\/i> will be reimagined this December by award-winning theatre company Wonderheads\u2014bringing the classic Charles Dickens\u2019 story to Victoria\u2019s McPherson Playhouse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Co-founders and performers Kate Braidwood and Andrew Phoenix say they\u2019ve turned the story into a play where expressions speak louder than words\u2014omitting words entirely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWonderheads is a full-face mask and theatre company. We also like to say that we are visual storytelling or live-action animation. That\u2019s our finance elevator pitch,\u201d says Phoenix. \u201cBut, really, that\u2019s the heart of it, full-face masks that cover our entire heads and all kinds of puppetry, from small puppetry to 10-foot-tall backpack puppets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Wonderheads theatre company are putting their own spin on Charles Dickens\u2019 classic A Christmas Carol<\/em> (photo by Daryl Turner).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The masks and puppets used in Wonderheads are unique, transforming the actors into otherworldly creatures. However, in regards to other aspects of the play, Braidwood says the team took on the challenge of telling the timeless story without any words.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most unique aspect of our version of [A<\/i>] Christmas Carol<\/i> is that it\u2019s entirely wordless,\u201d says Braidwood. \u201cOur full-face masks cover our entire faces, so there is no dialogue in the show, which I am sure people would be like\u2026 \u2018How can you tell a Charles Dickens story without dialogue?\u2019 But using the masks and puppets allows us to create a really inventive, whimsical, and very accessible version of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wonderheads\u2019 wordless approach invites the audience to experience A Christmas Carol<\/i> freshly, Braidwood says, adding a touch of magic to the tale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhereas more traditional interpretations might not have puppets and things like that,\u201d says Braidwood, \u201cour puppets can fly, they can be tiny, they can be huge, or we have a flying Ghost of Christmas Past and they go on a time travel together with Scrooge. It is a quite whimsical and magical version of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Braidwood says the reason the story can be told without words is thanks to the artistry and emotion of the cast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got masterful performers doing the puppetry and the mask performance. They are able to give new life, a new heart to the story,\u201d she says. \u201cThe masks and the puppets are very distinctive, they have a lot of character sculpted into their faces, [and] when our performers wear the mask or when they animate a puppet, they use their whole body to communicate emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The masks and puppets brought to life by Wonderheads\u2019 skilled performers create emotional depth that resonates with audiences, Phoenix says, even without dialogue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing that people say when they see our work is that they swear they saw the masks move, like they swear they saw it change, saw it come to life. But they don\u2019t move,\u201d says Phoenix. \u201cYou really feel like it is living animation, like you are watching an animated version of [A<\/i>] Christmas Carol<\/i>, but live and it\u2019s human. Or is it? You are not quite sure and [it] certainly elevates you to a kind of fantastical place, hence the name \u2018Wonderheads.\u2019 People are often surprised by how much emotion they feel in our shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

In regard to audiences\u2019 emotional response, Phoenix reflects on the constant change and ongoing adaptation of the show each year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year we continue to work on it, it changes and adapts. We add characters, enhance the puppets, we are always working on [the show],\u201d says Phoenix. \u201cAnd that is the beauty of running your own company and being the co-creator. So even for those who may have seen it before, I think they might be surprised to see what is different about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Wonderheads Christmas Carol
\n<\/i>7:30 pm Wednesday, December 18 and Thursday, December 19
\n2 pm and 7:30 pm Friday, December 20 and Saturday, December 21
\nVarious prices, McPherson Playhouse
\nrmts.bc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Christmas Carol will be reimagined this December by award-winning theatre company Wonderheads\u2014bringing the classic Charles Dickens\u2019 story to Victoria\u2019s McPherson Playhouse.\u00a0 Co-founders and performers Kate Braidwood and Andrew Phoenix say they\u2019ve turned the story into a play where expressions speak louder than words\u2014omitting words entirely. \u201cWonderheads is a full-face mask and theatre company. We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,323],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-november-27-2024"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26173"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26175,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26173\/revisions\/26175"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}