A WONDERHEADS CHRISTMAS CAROL
Where: McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Sq.
When: Dec. 18-21
Tickets: $30-$64 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or
Wonderheads Theatre co-founders Kate Braidwood and Andrew Phoenix do not sit idle for long, especially at this time of year.
Braidwood and Phoenix are the husband-and-wife team behind the acclaimed Victoria-based theatre company, which puts its name to a rotating series of annual shows. The big one of the bunch is A Wonderheads Christmas Carol, their unique take on the Charles Dickens classic. It’s a riveting blend of choreography and puppetry, during which many in the cast sport large, full-face papier-mâché masks.
It’s also a runway success. The company had a record-setting 2022, with 13 performances of A Wonderheads Christmas Carol in nine venues over a three-week period; the company followed that with an astonishing run of 26 shows in 22 days at The Belfry Theatre in 2023.
For this year’s bold move, Braidwood and Phoenix took A Wonderheads Christmas Carol to Alberta for the first time ever, with a run of shows this month in Calgary. Coupled with additional performances in Vancouver, Victoria, and Nanaimo, the company will have 17 performances of A Wonderheads Christmas Carol off the books by Christmas.
“It’s a large undertaking, so we definitely want to strike the right balance,” Braidwood said.
Their approach to business is an ever-evolving one, Phoenix added. “The big tour in 2022, there were a lot of one-offs,” he said. “We’d load-in each morning, set up all day, do the performance, load out, and go to the next place. The three weeks at The Belfry [in 2023] was an experiment to reach a different audience and be in a more intimate space. This year, we wanted something in between.”
The couple is still experimenting with their flagship production, which is brought to life with a cast of four and production and design team of nearly a dozen. The Wonderheads Theatre co-founders, who met as students at Northern California’s Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, before moving to Victoria in 2016, occupy several roles in the production, including as designers and directors.
Braidwood also has the added responsibility of playing antagonist Ebeneezer Scrooge, which puts her on stage for the majority of the 75-minute performance. It’s an exhausting, complicated character — “They all are in this production,” she noted — even though the entire show is free of dialogue. Two-a-day performances (common practice in the performing arts) are all but an impossibility, and its all because of the resulting wear and tear that would arise.
“It’s such a physical show,” Phoenix said. “It’s full on, the level of physical play and theatre skills. A long tour, a long run, it takes its toll.”
Some of the puppets in the production, which are nearly 10-feet tall, were given minor makeovers this year, to help ease the physical burden. A light-gauge aluminum was used for the framework of one of the backpack puppets, replacing the previous wood frame, which put a strain on the performer.
The masks are limiting, and heavy, which is the most cumbersome aspect. The static, stoic expressions of each mask are meant to be paired with an exaggerated physicality, one of the defining characteristics of every Wonderheads Theatre production, according to Braidwood. The variables of each individual actor comes into play, thus making each performance unique, she added.
“Many disciplines feed into this. One of our performers is a very skilled clown, and while this show doesn’t feature a clown, those skills inform this work. It’s the same with mime. These are all skills which can be applied.”
At this point, Wonderheads Theatre has created something wholly unique. More surprises could be forthcoming. “Every year we make new discoveries,” Braidwood said. “I think that’s what we love about this form. I never get tired of it. It’s challenging and it’s exciting, and it’s creative. It definitely evolves every year.”
