“It is required of every man… that the spirt within him should walk abroad among his fellow men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death.” ~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.

 It’s…that…time of year…when the world seems to do… all the Christmas things… on screen, on stage… every play you see…is A Christmas Carol… well, maybe not A Christmas Carol, but I could point you to a half dozen or more productions of that particular holiday show right now. So I’ll point, specifically, to The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre and their one-man A Christmas Carol (which isn’t even the only one-man Christmas Carol right now!) But it is the one-man A Christmas Carol with an honest-to-God British man playing Charles Dickens and all the parts. Sitting down in a TheatreBloom exclusive interview, Phil Gallagher gives us all the cheery details of what it’s like doing a one-man, Charles Dickens, Christmas Carol live on stage.

Thank you so much for giving us some of your time! You’re Phil Gallagher and this is your— wait, your second year doing a one-man A Christmas Carol?

Phil Gallagher: Yes this is in fact year two of that.

Wow. What would possess you to want to take on the most iconic Christmas story, that’s been adapted over a hundred different ways for stage and screen and radio over the years, as a one-man endeavor?

Phil: Probably rampant egomania. That’s probably the answer to that. No, seriously? It was a suggestion last year, which was a huge challenge. And I do love a challenge. I had such fun doing the other one-man show I did a few years ago, which was Marx in Soho, which I would do again in a heartbeat.

So when— and now of course I can’t remember if it was Fuzz (Artistic Director of Spotlighters Theatre, Fuzz Roark) or Sherri (adapter and director of Phil Gallagher’s one-man A Christmas Carol, Sherrionne Brown) who called me— but when they called and asked if I was interested, I said, “yeah, okay, how are we going to do that?” And I had absolutely no idea how we were going to do it.

But the timing was right. I didn’t have anything else on, it was a chance to work with Sherri again, be on stage for two hours all by myself. All the glory and all the blame if it goes right or if it goes wrong. I mean that’s why I said yes the first time around. And then I hear, not directly, but through the grapevine, that Spots was so pleased with it the first time around that they want to make it a tradition and do it every year. And I sort of said I wasn’t going to commit to something 12-months out, for next year, but if nothing else was on, then we could give it a go again. And here we are. Here I am, doing it again.

Does Charles Dickens have a strong tie to your upbringing? Obviously, though the readers can’t hear this in the textual transcript of our interview…the readers won’t be able to hear your accent because I haven’t quite mastered ‘British Font’, but you are obviously British. Charles Dickens is also British. Did that factor into this experience for you?

Phil: Yeah. Part of my education, in terms of English literature, involved Dickens. One of my favorite books is Tale of Two Cities. It was just all part of the culture. I remember the Alister Simms, black and white version, and there’s some more modern version that I really like as well. There isn’t any real reason not to do it.

How do you think this year’s production will differ from last year’s production?

Phil: Well, hopefully there will be an audience. It would be good to get a few more people in to see it. Times were very different last year. I think Sherri and I have found ways of condensing it a little. Some scenes that we enjoyed doing that probably weren’t necessary were cut. It’s not quite as hard learning all the lines second time around. Some of them are still there, some of them are even still there in the right order! Sherri inevitably is going to rearrange the set-dressing, what goes in which corner and so on. So just watch for me indicating in one direction, saying “and the fireplace…” and I’ll be pointing to an empty corner because the fireplace will have moved.

What’s the big challenge for you in tackling this one-man show this time around? We know you’ve done a one-man show before, as you mentioned— Marx in Soho. And we even know you’ve done this particular one-man show before. But what has been your biggest challenge as a performer this time, taking on this very iconic story that comes with certain expectations?

Phil: There is the challenge of simply learning all the words. In something like this, where there is actual dialogue between two characters, the challenge then becomes, “well how do I do that?” How do I manage to embody two different characters swapping backwards and forth without having to hop across the stage or do big grand things to make it hugely obvious that I’m being two different characters? Making that happen in a way that really brings these characters to life so that the audience knows what’s going on, and they know when it’s Bob Cratchit or Mrs. Cratchit or the young Cratchits or Tiny Tim…that is a real challenge.

Do you have a favorite passage in the piece, or a favorite character, or grouping of lines that you enjoy the most?

Phil: There are a few actually. There are a few good bits. I like the opening. I like the initial scene. I like being Marley. Marley’s ghost is fun; I like that scene. The Cratchit Family Christmas is good fun because there’s a bazillion different characters with onion and sage up to your eyeballs. The last ghost— the ghost of Christmas yet to come, and the scene at Old Joe’s where they’re flogging off Scrooge’s possessions that they’ve stolen from Scrooge’s deathbed- 

I do like playing that character too.

Would you say there is a moment anywhere in the narrative that defines what A Christmas Carol means to you personally?

Phil: Ooh. Good question. Good question indeed. I hadn’t thought about that but the thing that just popped into my head as I sat here is Scrooge on his own tombstone, pleading with the ghost. “No, please say I can change this, it’s not written in stone really, is it?” I think that moment when he’s asking for another chance— that’s it for me.

You’re not being haunted by any Christmas ghosts, are you?

Phil: Not that I’m aware of, no.

You had mentioned earlier that you were quite fond of the black and white, Alister Simms version of A Christmas Carol. Is that your favorite cinematized version? Or do you even have a favorite cinematized version?

Phil: I don’t really. That version is iconic for me because I just love Alister Sim, who plays Scrooge in that movie. I perhaps shouldn’t admit this, but I will… there’s the scene with Marley’s ghost and the ghost says, “you don’t believe in me, why not?” and Scrooge says, “because a slight disorder of the stomach makes the senses cheat, you might be a bit of undigested beef. Fragment of an underdone potato.” And that is very Alister Sim for me, and I try very much to make that moment the way Alister Sim does.

Many people treat going to see a live stage production of A Christmas Carol as their annual Christmas tradition. Do you have any Christmas traditions that you engage in every year?

Phil: I guess we do. What are our Christmas traditions? I guess they’ve evolved over time. Kids have left home now, but we see them still on Christmas Day. I can’t think we’ve had a Christmas day without them. Typically we start our Christmas morning with stockings— socks we’ve hung up by the fireplace— that Father Christmas has filled with things overnight. We all get into our bed still— if Ben’s partner is with us then we won’t get into the bed, we’ll sit around the table— but we sit around and open stockings. We have Stollen, mimosas, and coffee for breakfast. And the Stollen is always interesting.

Do you make the Stollen?

Phil: No. Pat does. Pat’s my wife. But there’s always a worry. There’s always a problem. You know there’s the scene in the story at the Cratchit Christmas dinner where Mrs. Cratchit is going on about the Christmas pudding. “What if it’s not done properly? What if it breaks?” Well that is just my wife! Oh the Stollen’s not quite right, the icing isn’t right or it’s overcooked, it’s undercooked. It’s exactly that. When I do that scene, I can hear my son guffawing because he can just see his mum doing exactly the same thing.

What would you say is the thing that you are hoping people will take away from seeing this one-man A Christmas Carol?

Phil: Isn’t that Phil Gallagher fantastic? No, what are they going to take away? I hope they’re going to be entertained. I don’t know how to put this really but I hope they feel like they got what they expected. Maybe there will be some people who come and see it who don’t know the story? I can’t really imagine that there are any. But those that know the story, I will want them to feel that “oh yeah, that’s what it should be like.”

This is not your first rodeo with director Sherrionne Brown. What’s it like getting to work with such an acclaimed and well-loved director again?

Phil: She’s awesome. She really is. We have a great relationship. There are places where it’s okay to disagree. We don’t disagree very often. I think we compliment one another pretty well because she has a strong visual sense of what she wants it to look like. My approach to theatre has always been more aural. I hear the words; I hear how it should be presented. With her sense of what it should look like, when to move, how to move, where to stand, and my sense of what I want it to sound like is a good combo.

If Charles Dickens could come and see this production, what do you think he would say about it?

Phil: What would he say? Give me my royalties. Or something like that. I can just imagine him being outraged at some of the bits we cut, probably thinking they should be in there, and vice-versa. Of course, he did tour with A Christmas Carol and deliver it himself, allegedly doing all the voices. Hopefully, if Dickens could see it, he would agree with my interpretation of the characters.

I know you mentioned you really liked being— what is she, the Laundress, or the Charwoman in the ‘Old Joe’ scene in ‘Future Christmas’— her, and that you’re very much channeling your wife when you speak Mrs. Cratchit through the Christmas pudding scene. Are there any other characters, other than Scrooge himself, that you really enjoy?

Phil: Marley’s Ghost. There’s a scene in the city, where there are four businessmen talking about Scrooge’s death, in the ‘Christmas yet to come’ bit. And there’s just one guy who I’ve just made a foppish, super-posh fellow, and I enjoy being him-

That’s a good one, I like that little exchange.

Have you made Santa’s naughty or nice list this year?

Phil: Oh, obviously, I’m very near the top of Santa’s nice list.

Of course. And what are we hoping Santa will bring this year?

Phil: Well, you know, world peace would be good. End to war in Europe, deal with the f**king climate change, you stupid politicians. For me, I haven’t really got anything on my wish list this year. I must be getting old. There are no particular toys I am longing for. Whatever— nice food and drink, good people around, that’ll do.

What do you think Scrooge wants for Christmas?

Phil: Ooh. Scrooge? Hmm. What does Scrooge want— wait, is this before the three ghosts or after the three ghosts? Because before the three ghosts he probably just wants everyone to feck off and leave him alone! After… he’s kind of on a mission to put wrongs right, make amends, and see that everybody gets to live sort of happily ever after. But see this is one of the areas where I have a little bit of a divergence from Dickens because— Christmas! And it’s all about the wonders and joys and magic of Christmas and how wonderful it all is. And there’s this tiny part of me going— “well, yeah, but if you’re Jewish… or Muslim… or atheist… then Christmas is not the answer for everybody, let’s be clear here.”

I think I want to refute that by saying that Christmas, or the spirit thereof that Dickens is referring to is not the Christian concept of Christmas, but more the secular idea of spending time with your loved ones, appreciating those that are around you, and doing good things for others because it’s nice to do good things.

Phil: Very well put. Can you write that down, I can use that going forward. But what you’ve said is very true and I think it is a good way of thinking about it.

Thank you. What has doing this project taught you about yourself? As a person? As a performer? As a Scrooge? Well you don’t strike me as a Scrooge…

Phil: No. I’m just a misanthrope.

That’s a whole different play!

Phil: Yes indeed! But this show, it’s kind of taught me that I’m getting older. I’ve got a sore shoulder over here because I’ve got burn spurs in my joint, and I’ve got sciatic nerve problems. It gets to ten o’clock at night after I’ve been at work all day and then at rehearsal and I am exhausted in a way that I do not remember being last year. Then again, I wasn’t going into work last year, I was working from home. I think I am also increasingly aware that that whole pandemic and isolation stuff— trying to do a one-man show in this kind of way is making me very aware that I’m a little bit more isolated than I want to be. That’s kind of what I’m most conscious of. I don’t like having to get up in the dark, and then I go to rehearsal in the dark. Maybe I just don’t like winter.

If you could take Scrooge out for a pint after the show, what would you ask him?

Phil: Well you wouldn’t take Scrooge out for a pint; you’d take him for a big Christmas bowl of smoking bishop! Scrooge, what would I ask Scrooge. I don’t know really. I guess I would ask him “Sir Scrooge, now you’ve learned all this stuff, what’s the message? Encapsulate the message for us. And don’t say “keep Christmas well.” What does that mean? What does one have to do to keep Christmas well from your perspective, Sir Scrooge?”

Why do you want people to come and see this one-man A Christmas Carol? Besides Phil Gallagher is fantastic.

Phil: They need another reason? Oh, well, there’s the general “people should go to the theatre more.” There is nothing like live theatre. That’s one reason. Get out, go to the theatre, support your community theatre. And the other reason is that kind of message which is part of the whole story— it’s never too late. Never too late to start again, to make amends. That’s why.

If you had to sum up the A Christmas Carol experience for you in just one word, which word do you use?

Phil: Redemption.

A Christmas Carol plays December 9, 2022 through December 18, 2022 at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre— 817 St. Paul Street in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore City in Maryland. For tickets call the box office at (410) 752-1225 or purchase them online.