Come enjoy A Grand Victorian Christmas Magic Lantern Show

By David F. Rooney

Christmas entertainments change from age to age, yet every generation has always been fascinated by the way their forebears celebrated the festive season.

On Saturday, Dec. 19, you’ll have an opportunity to satisfy your curiosity and savour A Grand Victorian Christmas Magic Lantern Show at the Nickelodeon Museum starting at 7:30 pm.

The show features three magic lantern shows, one of them — If Only Those Lips Could Speak — accompanied by the lovely voice of Malakwa nightingale Karen McPhail, The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight, which is the story of how a brave girl saved her beloved from Oliver Cromwell and a date with the hangman, and The Matron’s Story, a typically moralistic Victorian tale of how poor souls were saved from a life of awful squalor.

What evening could be complete without Christmas carols? Certainly not this one as the Community Choir entertains the audience with their dulcet tones. And finally, the evening’s show will be capped with the museum’s signature Victorian Disco Light Show accompanied by the amazing Belgian Automatic Dance Band Organ. For more information about the show or to purchase tickets please contact the Nickelodeon Museum at 250-837-5250 or drop by at 111 First Street West.

You can see some of the slides from If Only Those Lips Could Speak and The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight below:

This is the title slide for the Victorian ballad, If These Lips Could Only Speak, that will be sung by Karen McPhail. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
This is the title slide for the Victorian ballad, If These Lips Could Only Speak, that will be sung by Karen McPhail. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
A gentleman gazes upon the portrait of his lost loved one. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
A gentleman gazes upon the portrait of his lost loved one. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
As he dozes on his couch he is visited by a ghost. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
As he dozes on his couch he is visited by a ghost. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine of The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight begs Oliver Cromwell to spare her beloved. He refused. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine of The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight begs Oliver Cromwell to spare her beloved. He refused. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine of The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight flees her pursuers. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine of The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight flees her pursuers. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine braves a cellar full of bats and rats. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine climbs a ladder in the bell tower. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine of The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight enters the bell tower intent on stopping the bell from ringing. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine of The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight enters the bell tower intent on stopping the bell from ringing. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine of The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight risks her life to save her lover from Oliver Cromwell and the gallows. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum
The heroine of The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight risks her life to save her lover from Oliver Cromwell and the gallows. Slide courtesy of the Nickelodeon Museum