Since its publication in 1843, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol has been a holiday mainstay in England and the United States. A holiday season does not pass that there isn’t a performance, a reading, or an adaption being put on in communities across both countries - in Des Moines, it’s been performed for the past decade, first by the Repertory Theatre of Iowa and now by Iowa Stage. Across the hundreds of adaptions, a lot of the story stays the same- most notably the setting. Darker color palates, layers and layers of Victorian clothes, and accents and vernacular that tell a tale of yore.
It’d be easy to watch any adaption of A Christmas Carol and think that the lessons, problems, and pains of the characters and their world are far removed from our own - it would be nice even to say such a thing.
Like most classic pieces of art, A Christmas Carol’s longevity in the cultural zeitgeist is due in large part to its themes and events not only having a universality to them but having direct parallels to our world. When Dickens started writing the novels, he was shocked at the working conditions of the everyday man, the wealth inequality that deeply separated the classes of Victorian England, and the general disregard for the health and welfare of English children.
Most of the world is living through incredibly turbulent and unequal times, the United States and England included. In 2023, the Centre for Social Justice put out a warning that England was slipping back into levels of inequality not seen since the Victorian Era (CSJ). In the United States, 13 states have rolled back child labor laws, Iowa included (SIE). In Iowa, a sanitation company was found to have hired children as young as thirteen to work in slaughterhouses (DMR).
If the conditions of the world haven’t changed much since Dickens originally wrote the piece, then it might stand to reason his work hasn’t had that much effect on its century-and-a-half-worth of an audience. That would be a disingenuous and reductive view of how Dickens's work affected his audiences. Dickens’ work challenged his audience, and A Christmas Carol challenged them to hold the themes of Christmas - charity, kindness, community, and the diligence to maintain them - in their hearts and lives. He wrote Scrooge as the lesson that anyone can change and that sometimes shock can be just the right catalyst for change.
That is what Iowa Stage Theatre Company hopes to do with their upcoming production of A Christmas Carol, adapted by Larry Carpenter. Under the directions of Davida D. Williams and Clifton Antione (Artistic Producer, and RAC Members respectively) and the music direction of RAC Member and local musician Madison Ray, they aim to challenge how we expect to see productions of Dickens’ work and reinvigorate the themes he used to challenge the audience of his time to challenge the audiences of our time.
If you want to revive and keep the spirit(s) of Christmas in your heart all year long, join Iowa Stage at the Stoner Theatre, December 13-22. Get your tickets soon - since 1843 A Christmas Carol has always sold quickly!
Giovanni Bahena is an Iowa Stage Resident Artist who is an actor, artist, and activist. They're driven by authors and artists who challenge societal norms and fight for equality, equity, and community.