Manual Cinema: A Christmas Carol

Following up on their smash 2019 presentation at Middlebury, the interdisciplinary performance collective Manual Cinema takes on Charles Dickens’s holiday classic A Christmas Carol with a visually inventive adaptation made for the screen. In this version, avowed holiday skeptic Aunt Trudy has been recruited to channel her late husband Joe’s famous Christmas cheer. From the isolation of her studio apartment, she reconstructs his annual Christmas Carol puppet show—over a Zoom call while the family celebrates Christmas Eve under lockdown. But as Trudy becomes more absorbed in her own version of the story, the puppets take on a life of their own, and the family’s call transforms into a stunning cinematic adaptation of Dickens’s classic ghost story. This production draws on hundreds of paper puppets, miniatures, silhouettes, and an original score to create an imaginative reinvention of a cherished holiday tradition. 

This performance will be presented as a virtual screening. Watch from home and create your own holiday memories!

This performance is generously supported by Jean Seeler ‘60, Producer level member of the Performing Arts Series Society.

Free Streaming Tickets

48-hour access available starting Friday, December 9 at 7:30 PM ET.

Watch the trailer: https://vimeo.com/485233875