• Director, playwright, actor, and choreographer Jehan Aloysius on why ‘A Christmas Carol’ goes beyond a Christmas play

The lights, the laughter, the lessons of Christmas – some stories never fade. Christmas may still be weeks away, but ‘A Christmas Carol’ is already warming the season. Director, playwright, actor, and choreographer Jehan Aloysius returns to the stage with a fresh take on ‘A Christmas Carol’ on the boards at the Lionel Wendt on 22, 23 and 27 to 30 November. Reimagining the Charles John Huffam Dickens classic for modern audiences, blending theatre, movement, and music to revive Dickens’ enduring message of hope and transformation, he was on ‘Kaleidoscope’ to talk about the play and Sri Lankan theatre.

Following are excerpts of the interview: 

What drew you to ‘A Christmas Carol’, a story that’s been retold so many times – and why now?

I always wanted to create a new musical that would be a family musical. Some of my musicals have been a little more cutting-edge or dealt with strong themes, but I thought that it was time to do something magical for the family. 

It was close to Christmas three years ago, and my mum’s name is Carol, so I wanted to create something for her, so ‘A Christmas Carol’ felt like the perfect title and the perfect play. 

How did you reimagine this and put it into your own context?

I think the original novella has been instrumental in inspiring people to be more generous, to go out there and grapple with poverty and disability. These are two topics very close to my heart. I’ve worked with the disabled – especially disabled soldiers – for a long time. Even the term ‘disabled’ being the correct one, not ‘differently abled’ because people are disabled by society, is something that I’m very vocal about. I’ve represented Sri Lanka overseas at disability arts festivals as well.

What I found in the novella was the opportunity to expand on making the community more generous, not just Ebenezer Scrooge. In the novella, Scrooge suddenly becomes generous after one night and helps one or two families. But, if you can inspire the community to be generous and give back, there’s continuity in that. You can build a consciousness about poverty, equality, and spreading the spirit of Christmas beyond just the season. I also expanded some of the characters – like Belle and Scrooge’s story when they were young and in love.

There were several things that I connected with in Dickens himself – his struggles, resilience. We become stronger through challenges, and we’re thankful for them because they shape us. But, we never forget where we came from or those still struggling. 

As writers and artists, we’re the scribes of our times. We have to use our art – a novella or a play – to inspire audiences to give. When it’s the Lionel Wendt Art Centre Theatre and it’s a musical, there’s a certain crowd that comes to watch. If we can inspire that audience to think about community through the play, that would be amazing.

Did you do anything differently from the convention?

Yes. I expanded the Belle and young Scrooge storyline to bring out more romance. But, I also shifted focus to Tiny Tim — he’s pivotal to the story. Often, he’s just used to evoke sympathy; he’s saved from a darker fate, and people go, ‘Aww’. In my version, I wanted him to grow and find something beyond money and survival. I gave him the need to dance. That came from my work training soldiers without limbs, or those who cannot hear, to dance. 

That experience taught me that Scrooge can give more than money. Giving money is easy – it’s just charity, signing a cheque. But, taking time to identify something that truly helps someone grow with what they have – to see ability rather than disability – that’s far greater.

So, I thought that it was important in my version to build that relationship between Scrooge and Tiny Tim, and to talk about disability – not just showing empathy, but making a real effort to change, adapt, and be inclusive.

What guided your choice of actors?

Everyone in Colombo knows that I’ve been casting for this play for the longest time. As I always say: if you cast a play right, that’s 60% of the job done. The cast brings so much to the rehearsals; they nourish each other and are team players. We weed out the ‘passengers’ and the ‘stars’, so there’s less drama. 

I also look for balance. I don’t always go for the most talented. In community theatre, we open the doors to everyone — but ultimately, those I choose to work with or mentor are either exceptionally talented or exceptionally enthusiastic. They must be one of those two things. 

With enthusiasm, even if your skills aren’t the strongest, you put your heart and soul into your work, and you grow. That’s much more exciting than someone who’s always been on stage playing the same roles. A good mix humbles even the stars, and they nourish each other. The culture of my troupe is about supporting one another, not competing. Casting is very important to me.

This story is rooted in Victorian England. The actors you have are very young – how do you bridge that gap?

We do lots of workshops and characterisation work. We researched the era extensively. When I adapt a play from another time – like William Shakespeare – I always research the period in detail. We looked into the squalor of Victorian England, the social classes, and dialects.

For example, Fred’s accent is more refined because he’s from an affluent background, while the Cratchits’ accent is humbler. Scrooge is hard-working – he’s come from hardship and doesn’t want to slip back, but he’s not aspiring to the top of society either. Doing that kind of detailed work with the cast is very important.

What were the biggest logistical or creative hurdles that you came across?

When I do my plays, I have to wear many hats – not because I want to, but because it’s necessary. We do amateur theatre, especially original theatre, and funding is always a major challenge. We often have to pay back the production cost over several stagings. Thankfully, my plays have a way of coming back – like a common cold. I also coach my cast through personal challenges, which can be tough but rewarding.

Theatre is born out of conflict — between objectives and obstacles. You need an equal and opposite obstacle to truly appreciate your goal, otherwise, it’s too easy. So, challenges are essential to the creative process.

How do you hope your local audiences, especially younger ones, will relate to this timeless tale?

It’s a magical play, with many young characters and children. For a long time, I’ve done more adult or youth theatre – plays like ‘Rag’. But, this is more of a family show because we have little kids on stage too. It’s been interesting for me – I wasn’t used to having so many children around – but, it’s been fantastic. The magic and special effects in this show are new for us; I’m not someone who usually loves special effects. I believe in the actor being applauded.

But, we do have beautiful costumes. We have eight workshops around Sri Lanka working on the sets and four on costumes. We’ve never done something on this scale before. We’re a humble, original theatre troupe, and we’re so grateful for the amazing partners who have joined us on this journey.

Is English theatre evolving or stagnating?

I’d say that we’re doing a little of both. There are young directors now trying bold new things, and some of us older ones – who still think of ourselves as children – are encouraging them to have a voice and be original. But, it’s also difficult to change the mindset of audiences and young people who think that replicating something foreign, equals great theatre.

Theatre doesn’t have to be massive – it needs to be real and connect with people. It’s about community. Theatre is life – you see people acting out experiences that you relate to. It’s a space for reflection, for interpreting society, politics, and the world around us. It should provoke thought and discussion, not dictate beliefs. Artists are lateral thinkers. We may be talking about one thing but mean something else. We aim to spark debate and curiosity, not to preach. That’s what we strive for.

(The writer is the host, director, and co-producer of the weekly digital programme ‘Kaleidoscope with Savithri Rodrigo’ which can be viewed on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. She has over three decades of experience in print, electronic, and social media)