Dickens & Co pay homage to the godfather of stories
Please sir, can I have some more? Charles Dickens, the world revered author and OG storyteller, was born almost 200 years ago on Mile End Terrace, Portsmouth.
The son of a debtor took the poverty, crime and pain he experienced first-hand, mixed it with a sprinkling of joy and eccentricity - and spun it all into heartstopping stories of which the world had never seen the like. He hit peak fame at 26; had readers queuing around the block and screaming his name for the next weekly installment, and two centuries later his stories are still being retold around the world. Does his grit and passion for theatre remain alive in Pompey today?
If Monday's gathering of the Pompey Poetry Party and its performance of 'Dickens & Co' is anything to go by, yes they do.
A perfect ending?
On a dark and wet Monday night, 500 yards up the road from where Dickens was born, this passionate group of local community actors, poets and performers gathered, as part of the Portsmouth Centenary Celebrations. Their loosely spun, two-hour tale saw Charles Dickens’ (a superb Tim Suffolk) past and present collide in often farcical fashion, but with slashes of pain and grief.
The great author, whilst looking for a lost script and a perfect ending, came face to face with some of his most famous characters from his greatest works. It turns out they were furious with him. Miss Havisham, Jacob Marley, Fagin, Bill Sykes and Nancy were among those who pleaded movingly for alternatives to their broken lives and devastation. Why did they draw the short straw?
Murdered Nancy (Tina McNaughton) appeared surprisingly sanguine; but Han Newton did a fabulously deranged soft emo turn as a shattered Miss Havisham, and Rich Langsley played a tortured Bill Sykes brilliantly; showing the pain and vulnerability often behind male rage.
Raw and authentic
The show wasn't West End glossy. The hauntingly beautiful Theatre Royal was only recently saved from demolition. But you could feel the love for Dickens, and the honour of being asked to perform pouring from each performer. The raw, intimate venue and clever lighting amped up the emotion in the room. It combined to create a little piece of magic.
Emily Dickens and Harriet Goodwin-Dickens (Charles Dickens's great-great-great granddaughter, and great-great-great-great grandaughter respectively) joined the cast in the pub afterwards to toast their famous relative and express their joy that his stories and spirit live on. Cheers to that.