In Wales it is a tradition to sing most of Christmas Eve, songs and stories for the whole family, sometimes until dawn. This is the poetic heritage of Welsh bard Dylan Thomas that he describes so effectively through the eyes of his boy narrator in A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Originally written as a piece for radio, it’s a great choice for this year’s Knights of Columbus fifth annual production to be performed at the Heritage Playhouse on Dec. 12 and 13 under the direction of David Short.
The cast dress in costumes and read their parts at the microphone with accompanying sound effects in full view of the audience in the style of a radio play from bygone years.
This year’s performance opens with singing – you’ll recognize the Welsh hymn All Through the Night and hear soloists Brianna Browman and Trudi Diening sing with music director Doug Campbell on the keyboard. The music of the land would not be complete without the sounds of a harp from Loretta Macklin.
The choir performs on some songs you will recognize such as Silent Night and some you won’t, since they are traditional Welsh songs – the most evocative translated into English, Awake Were They Only. The authenticity of this Welsh experience is helped along by Nest Lewis, dialect coach and reader of a story and a poem. The poem is in Welsh; director Short will recite it in English as well.
The dulcet tones of Richard Austin Borthwick tell the tale of the boy’s nostalgic memory of a time long ago when it always snowed at Christmas and boys gathered to throw snowballs at the cats until they were interrupted by cries of fire from Mrs. Prothero.
The choir also double as readers and they step up to the microphone for their parts. You’ll hear the voices of Susan Rule, Gravity Guignard and James Stinson, among others: Mac Dodge, Bill Forst, Sharon Langenberg and Mary Kenny. Also on stage is the sound effects duo of Emily Diamond and Gambol Guignard making the appropriate boot clomping noises.
A Child’s Christmas in Wales runs Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and again on Dec. 13 at 2 at the Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons. Tickets are $15 adults, $10 seniors and students, available from Gaia’s Fair Trade or Laedeli in Gibsons.
