UK Theatre Network

As the house lights dim to clock bells chiming, the scene is set for Dickens’ dark tale – only to be broken by some beautiful company singing of various Christmas songs in a wonderful “round” arrangement.

 

Like a picture postcard of Dickensian London, the set and costumes are a big clue to the sumptuous production that lies ahead – and the audience are not let down in anyway. With fantastical effects from illusionist Paul Kieve (famous for being Magic Consultant on the Harry Potter films and also to Derren Brown, as well as creating the spectacular effects for the current west end production of Ghost The Musical) there really is no expense spared in this production. The orchestra create a wonderful sound and are accompanied by a very tight company on stage, whose vocal talents and energy do well to overcome what is really a forgettable score. The best effect of all however is Tommy Steele himself. Leading the show at the age of 75, he is very rarely off stage and has the energy of men a third of his age. It is difficult not to like Ebenezer Scrooge when played by Mr Steele and his disparaging remarks and “bah-humbug” throw-away lines provide great humour, in what is already a charming and witty script. He also shows that he still has the voice to carry off songs like “A Better Life” and “Begin Again” with great style and control.

 

A show however cannot survive on its leading man alone, and luckily this is an exceptionally talented company, with a real community feel . Barry Howard is a greatly grumpy Jacob Marley – a far cry from the role that made him famous, as Barry the Ballroom dancer in Hi-De-Hi. He was also involved in one of the most exciting effects in the show, and his first appearance in Scrooge’s bedroom saw the whole audience jump with surprise. Sarah Earnshaw and James Head make exceptional ghosts too, in very different ways. Miss Earnshaw’s rather serene and sweet Ghost Of Christmas Past was a very gentle start to Scrooge’s change of heart, quickly followed by the Brian Blessed style presence of James Head’s Ghost Of Christmas Present. His view of the Cratchit family Christmas gave us a chance to see some lovely performances from the local children procided by Ann Edmonds’ Starstruck Stage School, in particular young Ethan Kerr as Tiny Tim whose touching rendition of “The Beautiful Day” was beautifully sung and would bring a lump to any throat.

 

Director Bob Tomson has put together a very slick production utilising a clever set from Paul Farnsworth. Lisa Kent has created some nice touches in the choreography too, making good use of the set, particularly in the number “Thank You Very Much”. The only downside I can find for this Christmas show is that it is not here for longer, as it would be a lovely treat for the family on Christmas Eve (although I’m sure Sleeping Beauty will be an adequate replacement – either the Ballet in this theatre, or the pantomime in sister venue The Kings). As you only have until Saturday, make sure you don’t feel like the miser and treat yourself to one of the best shows you’ll see this year.

 

Listings

 

Mon-Sat Evenings – 7.30pm

Thu & Sat Matinees – 2.30pm

 

Tickets £11-£32

Box Office: 08448 717 647 (bkg fee)                 
Web: www.atgtickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)

The Library Theatre Company is popping up all over Manchester before eventually moving into its new home.  The latest port-of-call on this four-year odyssey is a disused cotton mill in Ancoats, the world’s first industrial suburb.  Murrays’ Mill is a listed building in the process of being regenerated, but it was already half a century old in 1854 when Charles Dickens was writing his state-of-the-nation novel, Hard Times.

Cruel factory owner Josiah Bounderby and foolish local MP Thomas Gradgrind attempt to create a more efficient workforce by regulating human life along strictly scientific and mechanical lines - “Now, what I want is, Facts.”  In the end though their dogma destroys the people who are most precious to them.

This site-specific promenading performance is an adventure for both the theatre company and the audience, as the actors emerge from behind the proscenium arch and bring their characters out into the real world.

The evening begins with a series of installations in the dark and damp basement of Murrays’ Mill, an atmospheric space teeming with specially recruited volunteer actors.  Riotous gin houses, artisans’ workshops, mean little sitting rooms and filthy bedrooms all echo to a never-ending cacophony of horses’ hooves clattering on cobbles, rattling machinery, crying babies, hacking coughs and fiddles playing Irish jigs.  This is a genuinely immersive and intimate experience, as well as being thoroughly eerie – there’s no interaction with the audience, but the figures move round without seeming to see you – I couldn’t decide if they were ghosts, or I was.

The action then moves upstairs to a long, narrow, low-ceilinged room with bare floorboards underfoot, wooden beams above, and exposed brick walls.  Here designer Judith Croft has created a series of open-plan “compartments”, a bit like a department store for stage sets, representing the various parlours, offices, schoolrooms, gambling dens and hovels of the story.

Inevitably in turning a full-length novel into a two-and-a-half hour play something has to give.  Ironically, given the performance’s industrial location, it’s the working-class aspects of the narrative which have been shrunk to almost nothing, so the weaver Stephen Blackpool is reduced to a walk on part in the domestic drama of the middle-class Gradgrind family.  And although Charles Way’s adaptation has been written especially for this production it still feels like a conventional theatre script rather than something that would only ever work in the unique space of Murrays’ Mill. 

However the promenading aspect is the theatrical equivalent of a 3D film at the IMAX, allowing us to observe Dickens’ gallery of grotesques at very close quarters - and the acting from the professional cast members is extraordinarily good.

The ever reliable David Fleeshman portrays Gradgrind as an essentially benign if misguided figure; Verity May Henry is lively and colourful as Sissy Jupe; and Mina Anwar’s Rachel is passionate and instantly sympathetic.  Unsurprisingly, though, it’s the villains who dominate. 

Richard Heap was a memorable Magwitch at the Library Theatre several Christmases ago, but at least I was viewing him from the safety of the stalls.  His over-the-top interpretation of the loud, vulgar, bullying Bounderby is hugely enjoyable, both funny and horrific.  I was only a few feet away as he drooled over fragile young Louisa Gradgrind (Alice O’Connell), demanding a kiss like a lecherous elderly uncle, and the physical immediacy made me shudder with horror – an intense and thrilling moment.

Arthur Wilson is hilariously creepy as Bounderby’s oddball clerk Bitzer, and Gareth Cassidy’s nervous high-pitched laugh captures the latent hysteria in Tom Gradgrind.  Richard Hand’s Harthouse is a plausibly attractive playboy, and he’s practically unrecognisable as strict schoolmaster Mr M’Choakumchild.  Equally versatile are David Crellin, who doubles the rather worthy Stephen Blackpool with avuncular circus owner Mr Sleary, and Lynda Rooke as both Stephen’s drunken wife and the down-on-her-luck gentlewoman Mrs Sparsit (whose resemblance to Christina Rossetti is uncanny).

Chris Honer directs the action with his usual sure touch and gets the very best from his fabulous cast, but there are a few logistical problems with the promenading, and although I enjoyed this production I would have been even happier watching it from a seat in a theatre.

Hard Times is on until Saturday 2 July 2011
Location: Murrays’ Mill, Murray Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6JA
Entry time: 7.15pm

A limited number of tickets are available on the day from the temporary box office at The Midland Hotel, Peter Street between 5.30-6.30pm, cash only.

Prices: Mon-Thurs £20 (£15 conc); Fri-Sat £22
Box Office: 0843 208 6010
www.librarytheatre.com

Reviewed byRichard Howell-Jones

           Charles Dickens caught the spirit of Christmas so well with his original tale of the redemption of Scrooge that further interpretation is neither necessary nor desirable. Happily, then, the Manchester Library Theatre Company’s production of A Christmas Carol stays true to the letter as well as the intent of this, arguably Dickens’ most popular work.

          A strong and experienced cast portray the characters we know and love with every evidence of enjoyment, striking a chord with an audience composed almost entirely of school children - and on a Monday morning too! David Beames’ Scrooge glued the entire production together as the other actors, multiply cast, swirled through his life and showed him the error of his ways, led by Abigail McGibbon (Christmas Past), Kath Burlinson (Christmas Present) and a startling Christmas Yet To Come of whom Gary McCann (Designer) should be justly proud. Paul Barnhill’s Fred Scrooge, the old man’s nephew, drives his middle-class scenes with the same intensive Peace and Goodwill to All that Jack Lord provides as the poverty-stricken Bob Cratchit. Claude Close’s Jacob Marley is just plain scary, a fascinating contrast to his jolly generous Fezziwig. Geoff Steer (Choreographer) gave the ensemble plenty to do but managed to make it seem impromptu, matched by a set of appropriate carol-based songs from Conor Mitchell, culminating in a courageous, and at times impressive, piece based on Handel’s Unto Us a Child is Born.

          Of course, everyone knows that children make a tough house. As soon as the house-lights rose for the interval, several wanted to know why Scrooge had changed colour from brown to white as he got older. This was adroitly handled by one of the accompanying adults who suggested that he’d become paler as he spent more time indoors; whether or not this was the intention, it casts no shadow on Darren Kuppen, whose teenage Scrooge cleverly captured the point of his downfall, and who also entertained as the perhaps appropriately-named Tupper, Fred’s roving-eyed guest. Another query was how Marley’s hat had been so wicked as to deserve the great length of chain which festooned it, when Marley himself seemed quite lightly burdened by comparison. And, unfortunately, Tiny Tim, seeming healthier than Dickens intended and having the wrong sort of trouble with his limp, was held to be less than convincing.

          As far as the adults were concerned, there was only one criticism: that the production seemed curiously muted, as if reluctant to upset or disturb. Granted it’s intended for a family audience, but Scrooge’s character here hadn’t far to travel from miser to benefactor. The catch-phrase ‘Humbug!’ lacked conviction and his ill will towards Cratchit’s desire to take all Christmas day off might have resulted from a headache. This was really the flaw, for without clearly-seen malice there can be no great redemption – all one gets is a man in a good mood, having been in a bad one. This has the further effect of making Cratchit’s amazement at his employer’s change seem overdone, which is unjust.

          But these are pips in the Christmas orange, inconvenient but scarcely detracting from the enjoyment. From simple beginnings, the performance builds in intensity to a joyous and confidently complex finale, subtly led by Performance Musical Director, Isobel Waller-Bridge, leaving its audience with a worthy, perhaps timely, reminder of the true spirit of Christmas. Rachel O’Riordan directed.

 

A Christmas Carol byManchester Library Theatre Company is at The Lowry until 8 January 2011

Prices: £12.50 - £16.15

Box Office:0843 208 6010

Performance schedule & online booking: www.librarytheatre.com or www.thelowry.com

 

Charles Dickens’ much-loved semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield has been magically transformed into a lively musical drama by the same talented writing partnership which was responsible for the Octagon’s fantastic Oliver Twist last year.

The first person narrative voice of the novel is so strong that playwright Deborah McAndrew has embraced it by letting the older David (Geoff Breton) tell his own story while watching and joining in with his younger self (played by one of the talented local youngsters specially recruited for the show). Geoff Breton takes on this huge role with boundless energy and enthusiasm, and remains charming and engaging throughout in spite of young David’s occasionally less than heroic behaviour.  The vast troop of iconic characters that people the work - among them Mr Micawber (Tobias Beer), Betsey Trotwood and Peggotty (Ruth Alexander Rubin), Ham and Mr Dick (Lloyd Gorman), and Uriah Heep and Steerforth (Jake Norton) - are shared between seven quick-changing adult actors who are also responsible for the live, practically non-stop musical accompaniment.

Deborah McAndrew and composer Conrad Nelson have outdone themselves with their inventive lyrics and music - folk dances, sea shanties, school songs, even a parody of a Gilbert and Sullivan patter song all set the audience’s toes tapping.

Designer Lucy Sierra has come up with costumes which are luscious and evocative - her lively tableau of David’s Salem House schooldays reminded me of Thomas Webster's painting "The Boy with Many Friends" in Bury Art Gallery - and the War Horse-style puppets, including a memorable donkey, are charming.

Director Elizabeth Newman does not always get her cast to differentiate strongly between their multiple characters, but the pace is always energetic; and musical director (and actress) Barbara Hockaday draws excellent musical and instrumental performances from the entire ensemble.

 

David Copperfield is on at Bolton Octagon until Saturday 15 January 2011

Tickets: from £8.50-£18.50

Performances Mon-Sat (for dates see website)

Eves @ 7.15pm; Matinees @ 10.15am & 2.15pm

Box Office: 01204 520661

www.octagonbolton.co.uk

Renowned touring theatre company Out of Joint are reunited with award-winning Irish writer Sebastian Barry for this new play about that nineteenth-century colossus of fiction Charles Dickens. 

The action takes place during the summer of 1857 when fellow celebrity writer Hans Christian Andersen makes an unexpected and interminable visit to Dickens’ new home in Kent.  The irritation caused in the household by the Dane’s eccentric and childlike behaviour is exacerbated by his poor grasp of English.  Their visitor however is delighted to find himself surrounded by a huge ménage of larger-than-life characters and is oblivious to increasing undercurrents of tension. 

This production is a dream meeting of fine writer, superlative cast and top notch production.  The dialogue has the satisfying style and literariness of a sketch by Boz himself, yet avoids seeming stilted or awkward because of the skilful delivery of great actors like David Rintoul and Niamh Cusack. 

Rintoul’s self-centred and self-dramatising Dickens is alive with passion and vitality, yet has a complete want of empathy for those around him (declaring that a “play is more real than real life”), casually wrecking his loved ones’ lives like a moustache-twirling villain in a melodrama. 

Niamh Cusack gains all our sympathy as his worn-out wife Catherine.  Only just recovering from a career of constant childbirth, she finds her role in the household usurped by her younger sister, her elder children being sent away, and her husband planning a separation.  Cusack matches Rintoul for ardour but is given additional opportunities for pathos, and seizes them.

Danny Sapani plays overgrown schoolboy Andersen as a blundering but well-meaning innocent all unconscious of the emotional atrocities surrounding him.  Although Barry’s intention was presumably to shine a new light on Dickens’ life by refracting it through the prism of Anderson’s eyes, somehow the famous Hans becomes overshadowed by bewitching little Irish housemaid Aggie, charmingly rendered by Lisa Kerr.  An Anglo-Hibernian theme creeps more and more into the narrative, underscored by those sentimental Thomas Moore songs so beloved of the Victorians.

Barry has written a compelling narrative and wonderfully rounded characters, and director Max Stafford-Clark brings them exuberantly to the stage with a variety of techniques ranging from puppetry to singing. 

Lucy Osborne’s set is cluttered with all the impedimenta of a traditional Victorian home, but works brilliantly with Tim Bray’s lighting to evoke scenes as diverse as a hilltop ramble, a moonlit fishing expedition, an impromptu cricket match and the Crystal Palace.

Great literary biographies invoke the spirit of an author’s work as well as creating a living portrait of their subject.  Sebastian Barry illuminates his subject, Dickens, by turning Dickens into a character of Dickensian proportions, and in the process becomes himself a writer of Dickensian dimensions.

 

Andersen’s English is on at Manchester Library Theatre until Saturday 6 March 2010 and then touring

Prices: £13.00-£18.00 (concessions available)

Eves: Mon-Thurs @ 7.30pm; Fri & Sat @ 8pm

Matinees: Thurs & Sat @ 3pm

Box Office: 0161 236 7110

www.librarytheatre.com

www.outofjoint.co.uk

 

If you think you’ve seen the definitive musical version of Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, think again.  Like Lionel Bart's classic version, the production at Bolton this festive season is laced throughout with catchy songs and dances.  However the Octagon’s new adaptation, with a cast playing multiple roles as well as all the instruments, is very much in the Northern Broadsides tradition - hardly surprising, as writer Deborah McAndrew and composer Conrad Nelson are both veterans of that company.

 

The narrative is stripped down to about two hours, so out go various sub-plots, but the old favourites are all present and correct.  Robert Pickavance is an oleaginous and sycophantic Fagin; Tim Frances is excellent comic value as Mr Bumble, the cruel and cowardly beadle; Esther Ruth Elliott is Nancy, the tart with a heart; and a rotating cast of talented and enthusiastic children play Oliver Twist, the Artful Dodger and all the assorted urchins.

 

Dawn Allsopp’s impressive set, an imposing urban sprawl of brick walls, rackety bridges and dirty cobbles, spans the whole width of the auditorium and soars to the ceiling.  Director Josette Bushell-Mingo’s production makes the most of the huge playing area, with great choreography and energetic ensembles.

 

This version of Oliver Twist is sweet without being saccharine, and addresses the iniquities of Victorian England without being too scary for a younger audience.  Judging by the reaction from the stalls on Friday night, this is a really excellent Christmas show for the whole family.

 

Oliver Twist is on at Bolton Octagon until Saturday 23 January 2010

Tickets: £8.50 - £15.95

Shows: Mon-Sat at 10.15am, 2.15pm & 7.15pm (performance schedule varies - see website)

Box Office: 01204 520661

www.octagonbolton.co.uk