A Christmas Carol: Ryan G Hinds on directing a favourite haunt 

2 Dec 2024.

by Drew Rowsome -Production photos by Katie Galvin; Headshot by David Cooper

As the holiday season speeds towards us, versions of A Christmas Carol are as ubiquitous as the irrepressible Ryan G Hinds (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lilies, Sarah/Frank, Two Kittens and a Gay Man, MacArthur Park Suite, Bent) being glamorous. Someone at the esteemed Shaw Festival had the brilliant idea of combining the two to, as Hinds says, "find a new take" on a beloved holiday classic.

Drew Rowsome: How do you take a familiar classic like A Christmas Carol and make it fresh while retaining its nostalgic soul? 

Ryan G Hinds: To me, it's a little like seeing old friends you've fallen out of touch with. We all know these characters and this story, but as time goes on our perspective on them changes, so no matter what, they stay fresh. The Ghost of Jacob Marley is a fearsome vision, but we also show him having fun at Scrooge's expense. We know Bob Cratchit is kind and cordial, but Jay Turvey does an excellent job at showing exactly how hard Bob has it at home and how he's struggling to keep everyone around him in good spirits. The bones of the story are so strong, it's easy to find new takes with it. 

What previous versions did you draw inspiration from? What ones showed you what not to do? 

Ryan G Hinds: My Protestant great-aunties would scold me if I didn't mention the 1951 film with Alistair Sim as pretty influential for its tone and emotional beats, and both Mickey's Christmas Carol from 1983 and The Muppet Christmas Carol from 1992 showed me how much joy and fun there is to be found in the story. There’s a few takes on the story that are depressing or sour, and those are the ones that don't work for me. Scrooge is not a man to be hated, and if he's too mean it throws everything out of whack. We need to be firmly rooting for him to change. 

A Christmas Carol is at heart a morality tale but it also has wonderful elements of the horror genre. Yet it is also often presented as family friendly comedy or as a panto. What approach have you taken?

 Ryan G Hinds: As a horror lover, the scary parts of the story are what speak to me loudest. Bring on the ghosts! The thing with darkness is that you also need light to make it work, and one of the strengths of this production is that it affects kids just as much as adults. The kids get to experience moments of something darker and more adult, and the adults get moments of child-like glee. 

How are audiences reacting to that approach? 

Ryan G Hinds: Beautifully. One of the joys of sitting in the audience during previews was watching how people react to the show. I've seen straight men wiping a happy tear or two from their eyes while trying to hide it from their wives, I've seen all kinds of people laughing at the antics of Shawn Wright as Christmas Present, and I've seen kids holding on to each other with delighted terror during the Ghost of Christmas Future. 

How enjoyable is it to pull off a jump scare or make the children in the audience wet their drawers?

Ryan G Hinds: Always puts a smile on my face! Fear is a tricky thing to pull off in the theatre, and when those reactions happen it's a group effort from the actors, designers, crew, stage management, and me. One elegant lady in the audience yelped and literally clutched her pearls at an early preview, and I wanted to high-five the actors! The magic is traditional Victorian stage effects and combines so effectively with the puppetry. 

The puppets look magnificent. Are they more difficult to direct than flesh and blood actors (I’ve heard anecdotally that puppets can be divas)? 

Ryan G Hinds: I developed a parasocial relationship with the cat puppet. During rehearsal of the scenes it was in, other people started noticing that while I was directing the scene I'd start petting it and scratching its chin! Fortunately it never bit me and doesn't have fleas. The Ghost of Christmas Future puppet is very challenging and quite dangerous to operate and often has a mind of its own, but any prima donna behaviour on its part is quickly nipped in the bud by the actors, who were expertly taught by Marla McLean and Alex Montagnese (Moby: A Whale of a Tale). 

After years in independent theatre, how does it feel to have the resources of The Shaw Festival to work with? 

Ryan G Hinds: I never in a million years thought I'd be directing for Shaw Festival! Even after being one of the directing interns here two seasons ago, walking into our first rehearsal day and seeing how many people were part of the team working on the show was pretty humbling. From the props and wardrobe departments being completely open to every idea I threw their way (strategically-placed mini-foggers! A Christmas-themed scooter!) to the crew that keeps the show running smoothly, I feel very fortunate to be working at this place with these people. 

Having acted in A Christmas Carol as a child, do you have to fight the urge to get on stage? 

Ryan G Hinds: I was fine until the tech rehearsals in the theatre. When I was out front in the empty audience, my actor brain kept saying "Don't you have somewhere else to be right now? Are you off-book yet? Go work on your accent.". Of course, the opposite is also true. When I'm acting in a show my director brain is similarly intrusive. 

What role did you play as a child and how did that production, and your experience, affect this production? 

Ryan G Hinds: I played the esteemed role of 'Tiny Tim's friend' at Meadowvale Theatre in my hometown, Mississauga. It was the first play I was ever in, and because I didn't have a lot of lines, I watched all of the adults rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get the show together. Community theatre requires that everyone band together and lend a hand in all directions, and seeing that happen made me connect the story to the idea of people working together. All these years later at Shaw, I wanted to have a representation of that onstage; a community of people working together to bring Scrooge through his dark night of the soul safely to the light and joy of Christmas Day 

A Christmas Carol has survived parody, panto, Bill Murray and Bruce Vilanch. What makes it so sturdy? What is it’s heart and soul? 

Ryan G Hinds: Dickens was really onto something when he wrote A Christmas Carol. Wrapped up in this ghost story is the idea that no matter what or who you are, change is always possible and the future is never set in stone. That's a powerful and necessary concept to hold onto throughout our lives. No matter how one approaches the story, that heart is still there. 

A Christmas Carol has a delicious gay subtext. What have you managed to sneak in? 

Ryan G Hinds: Delicious gay subtext? All I'll say is my direction for one of the scenes was "imagine Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly having a boozy brunch in Hell". 

Music and dance are a big part of your aesthetic. What role does song and dance play in this production? 

Ryan G Hinds: It's so hard for me to imagine telling a story without song and dance. With this one, it's in the title: A Christmas Carol. The show opens and closes with live singing, the characters dance a reel, and there's an Isley Brothers cover, not to mention some Christmas carols scattered through the show. We are lucky to have the wonderful actor-musicians Marlene Ginader and Lawrence Libor (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Lil' Red Robin Hood), on violin and accordion respectively. They're a large part of how we tell the shifting moods of the story, whether it be joyous or melancholy, as well as adding a festive spirit. 

This is one of the last productions at the Royal George Theatre before it closes for renovations. Are you going to leave any ghosts behind to haunt the new incarnation?

Ryan G Hinds: From day one of rehearsal, it was important to me bring ghosts into our space. The Royal George sits on the site of a blacksmith shop and was an entertainment venue for garrisoned troops during WW1, so even before its history with Shaw it had some spectral presence. Years after the new building is built, you can bet the Ghost of RGH Past will check in from time to time!

You are collecting an impressive resumé of directing credits. Is this a change of career direction or an addition? What can we look forward to next from Ryan G Hinds?

Ryan G Hinds: Very much an addition. My late mentor Chita Rivera often encouraged me to think outside the box and resist the urge to be defined, and she helped me realize that while I love being a performer too much to ever give it up, directing is satisfying in ways that being a performer can never be. And it's a lot easier on the body! One thing that's not changing: way back when I was Tiny Tim's Friend at Meadowvale Theatre, I knew theatre was the right place for me, and that continues to be true. I'm so lucky that cabaret, film and tv, writing, and hosting are fields where I am able to work, but all roads lead back to the theatre for me. Whether I'm acting or directing, it's always my favorite haunt.