ARTS CLUB THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF
ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY ANDREW PHOENIX & KATE BRAIDWOOD
BASED ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL BY CHARLES DICKENS
A WHIMSICAL FEAST FOR THE EYES, EARS, AND HEART
DECEMBER 2–27, 2026
Acclaimed theatrical imagineers the WONDERHEADS are back at the Arts Club Theatre Company to light up the stage once again with their extraordinary interpretation of Dickens’ holiday classic. A WONDERHEADS Christmas Carol is at the Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island from December 2 to 27.
This unforgettable experience brings Ebenezer Scrooge’s wondrous Christmas Eve journey to life with larger-than-life characters, glowing ghosts, dazzling masks, 10-foot-tall puppets, a mesmerizing original score, and astonishing stagecraft—all without a word of dialogue. Audiences should prepare for laughter, tears, and utter enchantment as they are whisked away with Ebenezer Scrooge on his magical Christmas Eve adventure.
“This immersive and imaginative production sold out last holiday season at our Olympic Village Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre,” said Ashlie Corcoran, Arts Club’s Artistic Director. “We’re delighted to welcome back the WONDERHEADS team and give more audiences, at our larger Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island, an opportunity to experience this unique retelling of A Christmas Carol. It captures the heart of the Dickens classic by creating a magical world of visual storytelling that words can’t convey.”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Based out of Victoria, BC, the WONDERHEADS are a physical theatre company specializing in mask performance and visual storytelling. Over the past fifteen years, they have developed five original productions, including their adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and have toured to festivals and performing arts centres throughout Canada and the United States. Their work has been described as “live-action Pixar” and is performed entirely without spoken words.
Kate Braidwood (Co-Creator) Braidwood is an actor, deviser, sound designer, director, mask -maker, and WONDERHEADS Co-Founding Artistic Director. She holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Victoria and an MFA in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International, where she trained as an actor-creator. In 2009 she teamed up with fellow Dell’Arte graduate Andrew Phoenix to form the WONDERHEADS and has been busy creating and touring their work ever since. Braidwood is an Oregon Arts Commission Fellow and a recipient of the Scion Motivate Award, a US national contest recognizing entrepreneurs in the creative arts.
Andrew Phoenix (Co-Creator) Phoenix is an actor, deviser, director, teacher, and WONDERHEADS Co-Founding Artistic Director. He holds a BFA in Acting from Texas State University, an MFA from Dell’Arte International, and has worked with Dallas Children’s Theatre, Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in New Jersey, and the Texas Shakespeare Festival. Phoenix also has a background as a theatre technician, having served as Technical Director and Master Carpenter at Miracle Theatre in Portland, Oregon, and is responsible for many of the set and lighting designs for WONDERHEADS’ productions.
CAST (The cast of this production rotates)
Kate Braidwood (Ebenezer Scrooge), Emily Case (Player 1: Marley, Fred, Tiny Tim, Belle, Townsperson, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) & Player 2 Alternate, Pedro M. Almeida-Siqueira* (Player 2: Bob Cratchit, Mr. Fezziwig, Townsperson, The Ghost of Christmas) & Ebenezer Scrooge Alternate, Chelsea MacEwan (Player 3: Undertaker, Mrs. Cratchit, Mrs. Fezziwig, Townsperson, The Ghost of Christmas Past) & Player 1 Alternate,Lore Andrea (Player 3 Alternate)
CREATIVE
Andrew Phoenix (Co-Creator, Director, Set and Puppet Designer), Kate Braidwood (Co-Creator, Assistant Director, Mask, Puppet, and Sound Designer), Peter Balkwill (Dramaturgical Collaborator), Jessica Hickman (Devising Collaborator and Props Designer), The Singer and the Songwriter, Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran (Composers and Musicians), Hannah Case (Costume Designer), Hina Nishioka (Lighting Designer), T. Erin Gruber (Projection Designer and Scenic Illustrator), Hannah Ockenden (Costume Associate), Christache Ross (Character Illustrator), John Nobori (Audio Engineer), Emily Trepanier (Assistant Lighting Designer), Katerina Sokyrko* (Stage Manager and Sound Operator), Kelsey Cain* (Assistant Stage Manager), Carolyn Moon (Technical Director).
*The participation of these Artists is arranged by permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the provisions of the Dance Opera Theatre Policy (DOT).
SHOWTIMES + SPECIAL PERFORMANCES
Evenings: Tue–Wed, 7 PM; Thu–Sat, 7:30 PM
Matinees: Wed, 1 PM; Sat, 1:30 PM; Sun, 2 PM
Holiday Schedule: Thu, Dec 24, 1 PM; Sun, Dec 27, 7 PM
Talkback Tuesday Performance: Tue, Dec 22, 7 PM
VocalEye Performance: Tue, Dec 22, 7 PM
Tickets are available by calling the Arts Club box office at 604.687.1644 or online atwww.artsclub.com.
ABOUT THE ARTS CLUB THEATRE COMPANY
The Arts Club Theatre Company is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, in particular the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations, We invite you to reflect on your relationship to these lands.
The Arts Club is one of the largest not-for-profit theatre organizations in the country and is the principal gathering place for the theatrical arts in British Columbia. Comprising three unique venues across Vancouver, the Arts Club welcomes more than a quarter million guests annually, tours provincially and nationally, and engages students and artists alike through educational and professional programs.
Above all, the Arts Club is dedicated to the advancement of local artists telling stories from around the globe and, in particular, those of our region. From this, we believe that culture expands, an understanding of differences is nurtured, and art bursts forth. The Arts Club was founded in 1964 and is currently led by Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran and Executive Director Peter Cathie White.
A not-for-profit registered charity · No., 11921 3551 RR0001