Puppets holiday in ancient Rome

By Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 10, 2005


The handmade Elwoodettes Marionettes are back on stage at the Bernie Legge Theatre this month with their new holiday show, The Christmas Present of Christmas Past.

Led by Max the Ho Hum Husky and his band of puppet-on-a-string friends, the marionettes will whisk back in time to the days of the Roman Empire where they meet the Emperor Claudius, escape from the Colosseum and get back home in time for the best Christmas ever.

This is the eighth Christmas puppet show created by Elwoodettes Marionettes, which are the brainchild of Burnaby's own Hugh and Elizabeth Elwood, and it takes virtually all year to produce.

"It's a fun story based on the tale of Androcles and the Lion," said Elizabeth, who noted that she and her husband will have their hands full operating the 17 different puppets in the performance.

The story begins with young Sir Cedric and his history teacher taking their friends on a trip back to ancient Rome where they meet the young Nero, run afoul of the Emperor and wind up trapped inside the Colosseum.

"It's really a lot of nonsense," Elizabeth said.

While this show does not have any 'trick' puppets as in the story The Ghost of Christmas Past from two years ago, which featured marionettes with breakaway limbs and electric lights, Hugh has devised a new lighting system that includes peripheral lights and rope lighting as the puppets are paraded into the Colosseum.

Elizabeth finished writing the story about a year ago, and then began the lengthy process of writing the music, finding the appropriate actors for each part and recording the entire 60-minute soundtrack, which features 11 original songs.

The production features a full cast of familiar voices from the Vagabond Theatre Company. Dwayne Campbell returns as the voice of Max the Ho Hum Husky, Lynn Radbourne is Brandy, Isabel Mendenhall is Minx the Manx, Bernie Magnan is the history teacher, Deborah Tom is Cedric, Paul Tourneur is Claudius the Emperor and Elizabeth Elwood is the Empress Messalina. Other voices include Yvonne Arnason, Luke Day, Mike Scannell, Mandana Namazi, Jacqollyne Keath, Chelsea McPeake, Claire Lindsay, Andrew Leonard, Brian Leonard and Roy Fairburn.

But the true marvel of the Elwoodettes Marionettes is the fact that there are only two people - Hugh and Elizabeth - working behind the scenes on all the puppets and set changes.

"It's like a one-man band with hands and feet going in all directions," Elizabeth said. "We have a 16-track lighting console that I can reach with my left hand, there are four lighting controls over top, and all the soundtrack is on CD."

This particular show has five set changes, with the Elwoods doing their own set construction and painting during their annual summer vacation. "I consider it my holiday artistic activity," she said.

And once the story is finished, the music is recorded and the sets are painted and ready to go, Elizabeth and Hugh set up the entire stage in their basement in early November so they can begin the many hours of practice time needed to make sure the puppets can properly move around without getting their lines tangled together.

The Christmas Present of Christmas Past from the Elwoodettes Marionettes, and it runs Dec. 16 to 22 at the Bernie Legge Theatre, inside New Westminster's Queens Park. Tickets are $9 adults, and $6 children from 604-521-0412.