‘Charlie’ Dickens bounds on to the stage and high-fives the other four ‘bad boys of abridgement’ in this fast-moving march through the complete works of the man himself. The show opens with a witty condensed version of Oliver in which Charlie’s insistence on filmic gritty reality clashes with the cast’s synchronised dancing and popular musical rendition. The cast’s pocket-picking villain is contrasted with Dickens’ dark and violent interpretation of Fagin’s last hours. Despite this, fans will be glad to know that Uriah Heap remains unquestionably between fish and snake, and the cast don’t deviate wildly from the original plots.
You don’t need to know Dickens back to front to enjoy the show, and although every single work gets a mention, only the most well-known are performed in any detail. The cast skilfully play a range of instruments to accompany the pieces, and this includes an excellent and energetic violin performance. Some of the condensations are not quite concise enough, but the twenty-second adaptation of Bleak House goes down extremely well with the audience. The works are interspersed with biographical explorations of Dickens’ life and, although this adds to the experience, they’re not as entertaining as the works themselves. This, though, doesn’t deter from the fact that the laughs flow easily and the acting and singing is excellent. The image of Tiny Tim playing a miniature electric guitar solo is an image that will stick in the mind for a long time to come! Definitely, a show worth seeing by both fans and non-fans of this Landport born, Victorian storyteller.
4/5
Rachel Bower
