If you're well-versed in Dickens' many novels, you probably won't mind the fragmentary nature of these sketches since you can fill in the missing parts from memory. Thus what we have is the chance to watch a superb actor in a play that's too scattered to make a really strong and lasting impression, and that is more dramatized lecture than a drama that happens to have educational value. The only characterizations that seem a little fuller are the Sydney Carton excerpt from Tale of Two Cities near the end of the second act and the tour de force reenactment of Nancy's murder by Bill Sykes which so exhausted Dickens that it was said to have shortened his life. Micawber, a little of Oliver Twist, a very tasty bit of Uriah Heep, but not a whole big bite of anything into which to really sink your teeth. The trouble is that the forty-nine characters (since the program does not include a list of characters and I quickly lost count I'm trusting this advertised number), are too much of a smorgasbord - a little of Mr. Callow an opportunity to animate numerous characters as Dickens himself did during his extensive reading tours. It's s full of interesting details about the author's life and mission and includes enough illustrative segments to provide Mr. That brings us to Peter Ackroyd's script. Christopher Wood's set design frames the performance with great flair, giving us an exciting first glimpse of Callow through a painted scrim curtain that depicts a library, with characters that might have been drawn by Dickens illustrator George Cruikshanks seeming to leap off the book shelves. Dickens' life has also been dramatized successfully on Public Television.Īs directed by Patrick Garland, Callow is given every opportunity to move around the stage which minimizes the stasis of having one performer combine lecture and narrative with portraiture. They've been dramatized and musicalized for the stage, with the The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby being the first Broadway show to break the three-figure price barrier. A number of Dickens' novels have proved themselves to be popular vehicles for the large and small screen. There's also no arguing with the theatricality of his subject's life and works. Callow is a mesmerizing actor who knows how to use his body and with voice and diction that carry to the furthest reaches of a theater. The Mystery of Charles Dickens, while definitely a play falls somewhat short of giving full satisfaction except to the most dedicated Dickens fans. In the final analysis then, what makes a theatrical presentation featuring a single performer more play than show, is whether it has the feel, and fullness and entertainment value that makes audiences leave the theater feeling fully satisfied even though they've seen only one actor. is as much play as it is a performance piece. He also overlooked that Elaine Stritch At Liberty, which is a solo piece about Stritch. He might have added that the way the performance is staged can also contribute to its play-worthiness. Simon Callow's above opening salvo for a pre-opening promotional article in The New York Times makes a good point.
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