This past Christmas, the Saint Julian’s Juggling Troupe put on an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s story Gabriel Grubb for the Academy’s annual Lessons and Carols celebration. In this precursor to A Christmas Carol, Grubb, like his literary descendent Ebenezer Scrooge, reforms himself after enduring three otherworldly visitors on Christmas Eve. But the Juggling Troupe added a twist: what if the old curmudgeon never learned his lesson?
Their story opens as the angry old sexton is working at digging a grave in the old church cemetery on Christmas Eve, when out of the grave climbs a wily goblin, possibly disturbed by the gravedigging and certainly confused by Gabriel’s hours of labor.
Although the goblin initially wants to torture Gabriel, bringing him down into the very grave he was digging, the appearance of a Christmas spirit halts his plans. The goblin is given the task of taking Gabriel through three visions, offering the old sexton the opportunity to change his ways.
However, as he moves through these visions, refusing to learn or change, and always desiring to return to his gravedigging, the audience is reminded that we can only turn our backs on salvation so many times before we too will be chained to the grave for all eternity.
Listen on:
Meet your hosts:
Matthew Williams
Music Director
