Final chance to see Bah Humbug!

While Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol may be a timeless classic, Bah Humbug!, SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs annual holiday production, is coming to an end after 10 years.  

Bah Humbug! adapts Dickens’ holiday classic from Victorian-era London to modern-day East Vancouver. This year, the production is directed by Michael Boucher, director of SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.

“We felt that we’ve brought this project to its peak,” says Boucher. “It’s hard to call it ‘the end’ because a lot of people are very much attached to it.”

The performance addresses modern-day realities of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Embedded throughout the adaptation is the need for reconciliation, based on truth and mutual respect.

“Bah Humbug! deals with important social themes and touches on pressing issues, but it is, above all, a great family story, sometimes bittersweet, but filled with humour, compassion and a celebration of community resilience,” says Boucher. “This season we have both familiar and fresh faces to bring this long-loved, local holiday tradition to a close.”

Commissioned and co-produced by SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs and the Vancouver Moving Theatre, in partnership with Full Circle: First Nations Performance, Bah Humbug! supports the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, which partners each year with 50-plus Downtown Eastside arts and non-arts organizations. Proceeds from the show support the festival.

Celebrated actor and Juno award-winning blues musician Jim Byrnes returns in the starring role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Joining Byrnes is a cast of professional and community artists including film and television performer Kevin McNulty, gospel and blues singer/actor Tom Pickett, and artistic director of Full Circle: First Nations Performance and Order of Canada recipient Margo Kane returning as narrator. Indigenous artists include Sam Bob, rising star Olivia Lucas, and Stephen Lytton, recipient of the Governor General Award for Caring (2016).

With musical direction by Bill Costin, Bah Humbug! includes more than 30 musical numbers ranging from traditional Christmas carols to blues, Indigenous songs, soul, and rock, from such artists as Buffy-Sainte Marie and Nine Inch Nails. The production also features the acclaimed Downtown Eastside-based Saint James Music Academy Youth Choir.

The Downtown Eastside is thematically illustrated through the colourful animations of award-winning artist Richard Tetrault, renowned for his depictions of the area's unique urban landscape.

This event is part of SFU Vancouver Campus’ 30th anniversary.

Bah Humbug! runs from Dec. 5-21, with three student matinees from Dec. 3-5 at 1p.m. Tickets are available for evening performances at 7:30 p.m., plus select matinees at 2p.m.

Tickets are $39 (general) and $24 (youth/students), and can be purchased online at www.sfuwoodwards.ca. Group discounts are available.