After a whole term of hard work, SIS decided to treat the students to a classic Christmas play: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

As the students marched across Östermalm to get to the Maxim Theatre, you could feel their scepticism. “I thought it would be quite boring,” said Bakang, and you could see that his mood was reflected in most of his peers.

However, as we entered the dimly lit room, the mood became more calm, with a hint of  anticipation.

From that moment on we saw nothing but great performances by talented actors. The set was well crafted and designed to fit the time period and the mood.  

At intermission, the mood changed. To the left and right of me people were discussing the plot, the actors and the songs, eager to praise the production.

The four ghosts were very impressive. The lighting, live piano music and sound effects all connected masterfully. The first ghost was frightening, the second ghost was nostalgic, the third ghost was jolly, and the last… well, the last deserves a paragraph for itself.

When the ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come was about to appear, the lights went dark. Those who knew the story sat on the edge on their seats; those who didn’t soon caught on as the ominous music swelled. There was a flash of lightning and a blast of thunder. The lights turned on the ghost, a three meter faceless figure, veiled in a long black cloak. Scrooge recoiled in fear and the audience knew it would do the same in that situation. To say that the last ghost was menacing and intimidating would be an understatement. An impressive piece of costume design and choreography.

Outside the theatre, the tone in the people’s voices changed. “It was really interesting,” said Bakang, and Marko commented that the songs got better and better and that finale was climactic.

One can draw parallels between the story and what happened in real life. Just as Scrooge changed his view of Christmas from thinking it was foolish to loving it, SIS students changed their view of the play. Something that they expected to be boring became a spectacle they would have been sorry to miss.