A new adaptation of A Miser’s Christmas brings children out
This year’s Christmas play by the Helsinki City Theatre’s Shed theatre group for children and young people is based on Charles Dickens’ classic work A Miser’s Christmas, based on which director Heikki Sankari and composer Tuomas Kesälä have created a new musical play for the whole family.
The setting of The Miser’s Christmas is 1800s England and a cotton factory owned by the evil and miserly Saituri. Christmas is coming, but there will be no break for the children working in the factory, and there will be no food. The miser wants tooth and nail to keep the machines running and the money taps clinking. The children decide to do something before The Miser takes over the Christmas spirit of the whole city.
“I wanted to make the Miser’s Christmas , which is carried out with Shed children, more functional, and I placed the events in a factory where child workers take their fate into their own hands. I got the idea from Dickens’ life, because the author himself had been forced to work in a factory as a child, and as an adult, he felt it was important to help orphaned children working in factories. The main message of the play, caring for others, is the core of Christmas. And the importance of community is even more important in this day and age. I see that A Miser’s Christmas is a great Christmas story that is good to come and see in several generations, to experience the spirit of Christmas together,” says Heikki Sankari, the director responsible for the new script of the play.
“I was inspired by the heartfelt script, which brilliantly takes into account the diversity and multi-headedness of the Shed group. Oh, the amount of energy! Children are indeed present in this work. The music is often Irish-tinged, but there is a rather diverse range of different musical styles on offer. The melodies are suitable for both children and adults to sing, which I feel is important in this production,” says composer Tuomas Kesälä.
A total of 80 Shedi children and young people will be seen in the roles, and Saituri will be played by Eppu Salminen, who will return to the HKT stage.
“This has been an interesting and unique project. It’s rare to get to work with such a large number of young people, and when everyone is singing, it sounds handsome! This is a real play of good Christmas spirit for us performers as well,” says Eppu Salminen.
The Miser’s Christmas is suitable for everyone from the age of 5.
Shed musical theatre gives children and young people aged 10–19 the opportunity to engage in hobbies and make a Christmas musical together with the professionals of the Helsinki City Theatre. With theatre as a hobby, children and young people get to not only act, but also dance and sing. The activities are made possible by the ShedHelsinki Foundation, which has been supporting diverse and child-sensitive child and youth work for four years. ShedHelsinki is modelled on the London-based Chickenshed Theatre, which has been making art out of diversity together with children and young people for more than 40 years.
A Miser’s Christmas, premieres on 8 and 9 December 2021 at 18:00 and performances until 18 December 2021 at the Helsinki City Theatre’s studio in Pasila (Ratamestarinkatu 5)
Tickets: children’s ticket (20 €), basic ticket 35 €
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