Remember the first ever full-length opera delivered entirely in Klingon? Apparently, that wasn’t such a novel idea as I first thought it was. Early this morning, as I was gulping down my first cup of coffee, I saw a tweet from Neil Gaiman himself (@neilhimself). This is what it said: “RT Absolutely not. @jenusellis: Any chance for a shout-out for Klingon Christmas Carol in St. Paul & Chicago?” Naturally, I had to click on the link to see what it is all about.
Dubbed A Klingon Christmas Carol, this full-length play is delivered in tlhIngan Hol. If you think this is a new thing, then think again. The guys behind the production – Commedia Beauregard – have been doing this since 2007! The involvement of IKV RakeHell of the Klingon Assault Group is also instrumental to the success of the production.
Unfortunately for those of us who are in other parts of the world, the play is only held in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. This year, the play will be shown at the Landmark Center. An additional run will be conducted in Chicago as well, at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Lucky people from the area!!! (Not that I can understand a lick of Klingon, but hey, the mere idea of seeing a classic in an alien language is awesome in itself!)
Lest you have forgotten what A Christmas Carol is all about, here is a teaser from the production’s web site:
Scrooge has no honor, nor any courage. Can three ghosts help him to become the true warrior he ought to be in time to save Tiny Tim from a horrible fate? Performed in the Original Klingon with English Supertitles, and narrative analysis from The Vulcan Institute of Cultural Anthropology.
The Dickens classic tale of ghosts and redemption adapted to reflect the Warrior Code of Honor and then translated into tlhIngan Hol (That’s the Klingon Language).
Now I wonder if we’re going to see more of these productions. Maybe in another language this time.
Thanks so much for the shout out!
To see more of Commedia Beauregard, check out the Blu-Ray edition of Star Trek VI. There’s a special feature called To Be Or Not To Be: Klingons & Shakespeare that exclusively features the theatre company discussing & performing Hamlet from the Klingon perspective. :)
You’re welcome! :)