NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
(2011)
Reviews of ......
THE
LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
Adapted
for the stage by Nick Warburton from the novel by Charles Dickens
Reviewed by Margaret Clark
The RSC allowed themselves the luxury of eight and a half
hours playing time for their production of Nicholas Nickleby in 1980.
Nick Warburton confined himself to two and half hours including an
interval, and what a marvellous job he made of it. The literary world is now
celebrating the 200th anniversary of Dickens' birth and this
production by BAWDS and Combined Actors at the ADC Theatre, was a worthy
contribution to the festivities.
Not having read the novel, on arriving home I fell upon a
copy of “Who's Who in Dickens” and very soon the characters and narrative were
laid out before me.
I could now appreciate, even more, Nick's skilful
adaptation with set scenes and narrations to link them.
The set scenes were concise and
retained the interest of the audience as we galloped through the novel's 65
chapters. Dotheboys Hall conveyed the fear and despair that Dickens discovered
in his tour of the North Riding.
Crummles' scene from Romeo and Juliet was a
highlight as the thespians in the audience appreciated Smike's wonder “Is it
true I am to be an actor?” and then the cry of disillusion “I cannot learn the
words.” Ralph Nickleby's contrition and demise were moving and masterly
portrayed.
Congratulations to playwright,
Nick Warburton on condensing this very long novel into one evening,
and to director, Colin Lawrence for
dealing with the logistics of a formidable saga.
NICHOLAS NICKLEBY by Charles Dickens
in a new stage adaptation by
BAWDS/Combined Actors at the ADC Theatre, 9 December 2011
Directed by
reviewed by
Having only a sketchy idea of the plot of Nicholas Nickleby, I
consulted Wikipedia – and found that the novel runs to 700 pages, with a vast
array of characters and episodes which left me boggling! So the first
congratulations of this review must go to
The set was presented on an open stage to the audience as they
entered, and this gave us plenty of time to admire the impressive graphic art,
depicting on one side of a central arch an urban setting and on the other a
rural one. A block of steps leading to a raised platform centre stage was
inventively used for schoolroom and street scenes, with downstage being used for
scenes in the Nicklebys’ cottage, with basic pieces of furniture, props and
sound and lighting effects indicating the change of location.
My main impression of this show was of a colourful, ever changing
scene, full of movement, with the episode rapidly following episode to keep the
momentum of the story. Great entertainment, although it did result in the loss
of the odd line as actors, keen not to let the pace drop, occasionally talked
across one another or just slightly fluffed their words. Some of the lines
spoken from the back of the stage were, just occasionally, difficult to hear as
well. However, there were some excellent opportunities for characterisation
which was seized upon by this talented cast, notably the Yorkshire Squeers
family, the odious Sir Mulberry Hawk and his cronies, and the rollicking
Crummles theatre company. This was the ultimate ensemble performance and the
many cast members combined (no pun intended!) to form a whole that was
definitely more than the sum of its parts.
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CLICK HERE to read a review of the show
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