It all began more than 15 years ago, when Colleen Winton and Russell Roberts got a call from their friend Brian Tate.
Tate, a renowned composer, arranger and choral director, had written a score to Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales, to be read by two performers. Tate wanted to know if Winton and Roberts - the well-known husband-and-wife acting team from New Westminster - would read the two parts.
That very first year, the performance was held in the Winton-Roberts living room. It was received so warmly that they decided to do it again the next year. And the next. And the next.
Over the years, it's been performed in a variety of venues and cities in the Lower Mainland and in Victoria. These days, they hold annual shows at the Welsh Society's Cambrian Hall in Vancouver, and this year's two shows in the society's Red Dragon Pub (Dec. 12 and 13) are already sold out.
"We just felt like we wanted to do it someplace else," Winton says, noting that over the years friends have asked that they stage the show at home in New Westminster.
This year, thanks to the opening of the new Anvil Centre theatre, they found their perfect venue.
"We're really excited about that. The space is beautiful," Winton says. "It hasn't had many events there yet. We're very excited to be one of the first."
Once again this year, Winton and Roberts have recruited the talents of their two sons: Sayer, 24, and Gower, 21.
Both are making their careers in theatre - Sayer on stage, and Gower behind the scenes. Sayer has been busy as a performer, and the coming year will see him return to the stage with Patrick Street Productions' Out of a Dream at Gateway Theatre, as well as starring as Marius in the Arts Club Theatre production of Les Misérables. Gower, meanwhile, works as a technician with the Massey Theatre and Anvil Centre, among others, and also sings with the Vancouver Cantata Singers.
They'll be singing in the family's Christmas production - which, alongside A Child's Christmas in Wales, will include other seasonal readings and songs.
Some will be light-hearted, and others serious, and well-known carols will take their place alongside more unfamiliar numbers.
But Winton promises the whole evening will be in the same vein as the title number, capturing the warmth and magic of the season.
"It's a heartwarming evening," she says.
A Child's Christmas in Wales is onstage at the Anvil Centre theatre on Monday, Dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $30 regular, $25 for seniors and $20 for students. Buy through ticketsnw.ca or call 604-521-5050.
For more happenings at the Anvil Centre, check out the website at www.anvilcentre.com.
