Studying a book or film can be a short-cut to consigning it to boredom. But our Texts in the City series – a gift to students, their teachers and lifelong learners – brings the VCE English and Literature lists to life.
Each week, our hosts – authors Lili Wilkinson and Tony Birch – will interview experts intimately familiar with the texts, unearthing those hidden gems that could help your essay shine.
This week sees Lili Wilkinson and Phil Zachariah exploring Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol.
·Related video: Our 2012 Texts in the City discussion of this text
Featuring
Lili Wilkinson
Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of eighteen books for young people, including The Erasure Initiative and After the Lights Go Out. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and ...
Phil Zachariah
Phil is a graduate of the National Theatre, with a background in science and a great deal of splashing about in theatre-in-education, including three years performing for the CSIRO Science Education Centre. He has also sung for the Victoria State Opera and gigged with Harry Kewell.
He was heard on ABC Radio National, in a series on critics, as both John Ruskin and George Bernard Shaw; he’s played Sigmund Freud, Prospero and Juliet’s nurse, and appeared as H.G. Wells in ABC2’s The Bazura Project.
In 2003, Phil and director James Adler developed Charles Dickens performs A Christmas Carol, and he has toured in it ever since, reveling in the role and the story. The Eagle’s Nest Theatre production travels to schools and is a regular fixture each December at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre.
This summer, Phil has been on a World Tour with Mr Dickens, playing him across Europe, the UK, New Zealand and Asia.