Look, dear reader, I know you’re giving me the side eye right now. You think I’m one of Mariah Carey’s zombies; Thanksgiving isn’t even here yet and here I am, ready to hark along with God’s cheesiest of herald angels. Glory to the holiday season, peace in Beijing and mercy weather (despite the sudden temperature drop).
But look! I have my reasons! What If I didn’t come here with the news of Middle Kingdom Creatives’ newest brain child? Ah, I see; now you want to know more. Well, yes; Beijing’s favorite English-speaking theater troupe is bringing a new production to the stage of JinShang Yuan—a whole new take on Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. That’s right! Write down the six dates on your agenda: Friday (Nov 29, Dec 6 and Dec 13) and Saturday (Nov 30, Dec 7 and Dec 14), as well as the time for them all: 7.30pm. Ebenezer Scrooge is stepping out of the Victorian era, pajamas and all, for a new journey that will keep the holiday vibes but add in a lot of surprises and witty humor.
Exciting, isn’t it? And that’s before I even dropped on you this interview with Laurel Burns, queen extraordinaire of fun, irreverent theater. Take this chat with her as a small glimpse into all the awesomeness that awaits the audience. Tickets are priced at a mere RMB 150-200, which trust me—it’s a more than reasonable price when you place your leisure in the hands of this troupe. Let’s dive right in!
Hey, Laurel! Always so chuffed to talk to you, particularly ahead of a new production. Tell us more about A Christmas Carol: Unwrapped. Last year you went for Shakespeare and his Twelfth Night; what made you turn to Dickens this season? And what can we expect from you?
Last year, we got a taste of the Dickensian aesthetic when we themed our Twelfth Night in Victorian style. Now, A Christmas Carol had actually been in our minds since the pandemic era. We have always wanted to present this classic story in a fresh way, and this year, our amazing assistant director and playwright David Alien has truly “unwrapped” the story for us. His version of the story is wacky, heartwarming, and full of references that we think our Beijing audience will love.
Oh, so that’s where the title comes from. Brill! Who’s in your lineup this time? Is it all seasoned interpreters or did you also get a few newcomers into the bag? How do you cast your troupe for a play like this, and were you looking for any specific profile vs the rest of your projects throughout the year?
I put a call for auditions in September– you probably saw me saturating WeChat group chats with my little message and PDF detailing all the audition information. And I am thrilled to report that this time around, we found a lot of newcomers! Because this is a holiday show, we wanted to create a very inclusive feeling of family. That’s why we created lots of characters to be filled and ended up casting everyone who auditioned! At over 30 people, this will be our largest cast to date!
That’s so great that you found a way to have everyone welcomed onto the stage. Once you were all on paper, how did you prepare and rehearse for the show? What were your main challenges, both for the directors and for the interpreters themselves?
This is our first time working with an original script. Luckily, our playwright stepped up big time, joining us at every rehearsal and actually doubling as our assistant director. This gave us the freedom to explore and adapt however we wanted during the rehearsal process. We rehearse twice a week for two hours at a time, which is certainly a lot to squeeze into such a short time. But then again that’s what must be done in order to accommodate the schedules of more than 30 people!
Impressive. I am sure it’ll be worth the effort and the wait. It’s also undeniable that JinShang Yuan provides a great stage for your plays, particularly now that they’ve actually doubled down on their facilities. Tell us more about your partnership with this venue and the ways in which the English-speaking theater community of Beijing has benefitted from this ongoing collaboration.
We have a great ongoing collaboration with JinShang Yuan, and are super pleased to see their continued success as they expand to different parts of the city! Luckily they still make space for us every year, and they truly value our presence in their building.
Oh, yes, that’s a recent development I’ve noticed myself! And truly amazing to see that solid bond with you guys throughout the years. Back to A Christmas Carol, though. I really don’t want to spoil the crowd, but what can the audience expect from you guys on any of the six performances you’ll offer? Typically, your shows involve a certain degree of interaction with the audience.
Ha, ha, yes! This time around, we’re going beyond our usual fourth wall breaking approach and will have some pretty significant audience participation planned. I was inspired by a cowboy style bandit show that I saw at Happy Valley Amusement Park, where they brought audience members onto the stage to participate as characters in the show! I don’t want to spoil too much either, but just know there will be some opportunities for eager audience members to step onto our stage and be part of the story!
Lovely! But, you know, once we’re immersed in the whirlwind of the holidays, all of a sudden we’ll blink and find ourselves in a brand new year. Can you give us a sneak peek of what 2025 may have in store for Middle Kingdom Creatives? What would you personally like to see? Laurel, at this point you’re a quite experienced member of the theater community here. What’s your balance of it all so far? The challenges, the highlights, anything that comes to your mind.
I am amazed at how we have grown since our first humble Drunk Shakespeare show during the pandemic. In Spring 2025, we’re planning to bring another full stage musical show to JinShang Yuan, following the huge success of last spring’s Drowsy Chaperone. I personally also hope we can bring more varied creative projects and performances to the stage in 2025.
The community we’ve built is ever growing, and I am intent on creating space for other members of our community to lead projects and share their ideas on the stage, with our support. Until now, it has been me and a small creative team making all of these shows happen (on top of our day jobs!). I won’t lie… It’s a lot of work and a lot of 麻烦 (máfan). But all suffering is well worth it when the shows finally get on stage, and we can bring the community together in one room to witness it all.
A Christmas Carol Unwrapped will be taking place at JinShang Yuan on Friday, Nov 29, Dec 6 and Dec 13; and Saturday, Nov 30, Dec 7 and Dec 14 at 7.30pm. Tickets are RMB 150-200 and can be purchased by scanning the QR code in the poster above.
JinShang Yuan
20 Xinyuanli Xi, Chaoyang District
朝阳区新源里西20号
READ: Catch International TV Comedian Annie Yang’s First Beijing Show
Images: courtesy of Middle Kingdom Creatives
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