★★★★ - "David Copperfield takes Dickens’s favourite work and turns it into a fun-filled night at the Music Hall" (The Reviews Hub)
"This is a terrific yarn filled with larger-than-life characters – and the audience seems willing to embrace this rambunctious production wholeheartedly" (The Stage)
This lovely adaptation by Simon Reade, with songs by the inimitable Chris Larner, is performed by just three actors and a musician (MD: Tom Knowles), bringing over thirty characters bursting to life between them. Set in a music hall atmosphere, by turns hilarious and moving, they tell the tale of The Personal History, Adventures and Observations of David Copperfield, in a whirlwind tour de force presentation of this most delightful, insightful and extraordinary book.
Charles Dickens had a love affair with the theatre. An occasional dramatist and amateur actor, his novels were influenced by, and in turn, influenced the Victorian theatre of his day. As a child, he delighted in staging entertainment in his model theatre, complete with extravagant sound effects. As an adult, he adored the shows in regional playhouses as much as the grand performances in London.
“It will be easily believed that I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy..but, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.” Charles Dickens, 1869.
It can be no coincidence that Charles Dickens’ initials are inverted to become David Copperfield’s initials.