Friday, December 16, 2011

a christmas carol | responses


"Tour de force is a phrase I've used before to describe a performance of Reed's but it's never been as remarkable as it is here. He gives the illusion of having memorized the entire novella, playing all the characters from penny-pinching Ebenezer, to his ebullient nephew Freddie, Freddie's disapproving wife and the street urchin who runs to buy the biggest turkey in town for Scrooge. The only character Reed doesn't play is the turkey. (Considering what happens to the bird, that's probably a good thing.)" | Jo Ledingham, The Vancouver Courier

"Reed is a wonderful storyteller and as he moves quickly from a simple reading into full-blown reenactments of scenes, the richness of Dickens' tale shines. Reed has an obvious love for his source material and it pours forth onto the stage with an openness and spirit that easily draws you in. In the final moments of the play Reed is so joyful in his character’s enlightenment I even found my own indifference to the holiday season melt away." | Mark Robins, Gayvancouver.net

"A Christmas Carol with Ron was an entirely moving experience; I left the theatre with a big smile on my face and tears in my eyes. The set was priceless - the Old Curiosity Shop set the perfect Victorian mood. All the old toys and puppets and crows and real candles and, well, curios were endlessly interesting, particularly when they were brought in as part of the storytelling. So lively. And Ron was phenomenal - I was taken in from beginning to end. Gorgeous. Such a timely message for the season. PT outdoes itself again! Love you guys!" | Lorri Romhanyi, email


"The second central strength of this mounting is Reed’s performance. He starts by simply voicing the characters as he reads the book, but he soon moves into full enactments of multiple-character scenes. A Christmas Carol is fundamentally about generosity, and so is Reed’s work. Rather than showing off, the actor impresses with his subtlety and his affection for the characters. I especially enjoyed it when Reed embodied Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, and his family. His Mrs. Cratchit is timorous and furious, his Cratchit a liquid mixture of optimism and grief. And Reed expresses Scrooge’s giddily ecstatic spiritual rebirth better than anybody I’ve seen do it since Alistair Sim set the standard in the classic 1951 movie." | Colin Thomas, The Georgia Straight

"Ron Reed’s brilliant performance breathes new life into an old classic." | Jan Quiring, email

"Pacific Theatre does great honour to Dickens’ beautiful, humanist message through this imaginative and wondrously entertaining production." | Brian Paterson, Laura Murray PR


"Please go if you can! Ron’s acting keeps you in the moment with Scrooge...I felt I had gone back in time. Very thought provoking. Entertaining too! Great for all ages. I’m taking both my kids and my parents." | Anne Mak, email

"Ron Reed switches between characters so briskly that he’s in dialogue with himself. His transitions are a sight to see: one moment he’s issuing a sincere gale of laughter, all red in the face and jovial, and in the next, he’s hunched, growling and proclaiming Bah! Humbug! like he means it. ... This play is a great reminder of the joys of simple storytelling — and a reminder that we need not wield high-tech media or special effects to partake in them." | Alyzee, Being Emme

"Bah Humbug! Ron Reed’s adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic was a true delight." | William Hay, blog

"Loved the creativity in the setting and the use of props. As always, Ron’s acting was a delight! We’re recommending it to friends!" | Ron Wilson, email

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