What happens when you transform Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol into a vibrant exploration of contemporary socio-economic issues? Red Carol: A Public Humanities Experience on Social Justice and Empathy, from the pioneering collective The San Francisco Mime Troupe (SFMT) and set to be performed at Z Space in San Francisco from December 14-29, 2024, reimagines this classic holiday tale—where six people play all the roles—to address modern issues of inequality, labor rights, and economic justice.
Each performance will be followed by a facilitated discussion led by humanities scholars, inviting audiences to reflect on themes of empathy, civic responsibility, and social justice. This project fosters community dialogue, encourages critical thinking, and connects the play’s timeless message to the contemporary challenges facing Californians today.
Red Carol plays to the strengths of SFMT, which since 1959 has created socially and politically relevant theater. Known for its satirical performances and educational programs, the troupe often addresses issues like civil rights, economic inequality, and environmental justice through musical comedies and outdoor productions. We spoke with Michael Gene Sullivan, who adapted A Christmas Carol for this California Humanities-supported production, about why this humanities-infused production resonates at this moment.
How did you arrive at A Christmas Carol as the source material for addressing modern issues of social justice and equity in Red Carol? Tell us how this production and the Mime Troupe’s unique approach to storytelling that might surprise those only familiar with Dickens’ tale.
I have been a fan of A Christmas Carol as long as I can remember. The fundamental message of shared humanity was an important part of what my parents taught me, and so years later, when I had the chance to perform in an annual production at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, it meant quite a bit. But I noticed that rather than being challenged by the production, many audience members seemed relieved—they had done their part in life by simply being not as bad as Scrooge, and if they were a bit heartless it was okay—there was still redemption. They did not experience the ghost story Dickens had written as anything but entertainment.
So, as our country hurtles backwards to a time of robber barons and social Darwinism, and of curtailed civil rights and a blatant corporate aristocracy, I felt it was important to remind audiences what A Christmas Carol was intended to be—a frightening reflection on how inhumanity is justified with greed in a society that ignores the first and celebrates the second. These are the economic and human tensions the Mime Troupe underlines with every show—challenging, entertaining, and activating every audience. I felt setting the show in a homeless encampment, with the production put on by the people who live there, is not something most theatre companies would allow. A calm, conservative Christmas Carol is a financial asset that other theaters need in order to survive. But an openly activist interpretation, designed to challenge an audience rather than lull them, is a goal that requires a style unique to the Mime Troupe.
Why are the public humanities important to SFMT’s work in productions and projects like Red Carol?
The arts and the humanities are inseparable, because art is the language of humanity. Art is the human interpretation of thoughts or events, conveying a point of philosophy, a point of view; Events Plus, Journalism Plus. Plus humanity. This adaptation of A Christmas Carol reminds the audience that the story isn’t about a single person getting in touch with their humanity, it’s about all of us. And we can be part of the solution to not just our own problems, but others too. We are all oppressed by the same inhumanity, the same greed and thoughtlessness, but we can all be part of the revolution of thought needed to free ourselves, and others.
As we move into the holiday season, what do you hope audiences will take away from Red Carol?
As Dickens hoped: that people would take that sense of shared humanity that they seemed to glimpse at Christmas and apply it all year long. But also, to shake off the mental shackles of a system that thrives on dividing the working class from itself, a system that convinces workers they have more in common with a distant billionaire than with the person working next to them, a system that has trained them to be ashamed rather than proud of being a worker —the one sort of person most Americans are.
Red Carol runs from December 14-29 at San Francisco’s Z Space. Purchase tickets here.
Any views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of California Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
