About the only fiction written by the prolific Charles Dickens that I've ever read, I think, is his masterful ghost story The Signalman. Now, having witnessed Miriam Margolyes' dazzling performance in Dicken's Women last night, I think I'd better read some more.
Not that you need a great knowledge of Dickens to enjoy the show, or her performance. Over the course of two hours (plus interval) Margolyes presents a remarkable overview of the man's life and work: showing how the characters in his fiction were inspired by some of the key women in his life (ie his wife, the sister-in-law with whom he was in love and in whose grave he wanted to be buried), how his art rose above his seeming bastardry, and demonstrating her own, quite remarkable versatility as well as Dickens' dazzling prose.
It's clear that Margolyes adores Dickens' writing, and one of the joys of this show is that it so clearly and directly communicates her passion for the man's work. Not just playing, but embodying some 40 characters from a range of Dickens' novels (including icons such as the decaying Miss Haversham from Great Expectations as well as numerous minor characters) Margolyes wove a dramatic magic that was sometime poignant, at other times hilarious. The scene from Chapter 23 of Oliver Twist which opened the second half of the show, in which Margolyes played both a magnificently grotesque Mr Bumble the Beadle and the object of his mutal affection, Mrs Corney, was a particularly memorable example.
Throughout the evening Margolyes demonstrated amazing range and great comic timing. While I found one or two scenes slightly overplayed, I was more than willing to forgive the occasional self-indulgent moment, such was the strength of the production overall.
Simply staged, with a minimal lighting design, and accompanied at times by a pianist, Dickens' Women was a joy to behold. If you get the chance to see the production before it ends its brief run at The Arts Centre on Sunday, or at one of its other appearances, such as in Frankston, Brisbane and Sydney, please do go. I assure you, you won't regret it.
4 comments:
Great Expectations is a fine place to start. Either that or Oliver Twist.
now i'm really gutted i didn't get to go with you, babes.* she is such a powerhouse.
i actually love to read dickens and can lend you a few to get going. my favourite is hard times, but i'm also partial to a tale of two cities. timt's suggestions above are also excellent. you can't really go wrong with dickens.
*and obviously i'm gutted about the game last night but let's not talk about that now or ever.
There was no game last night kp. I have expunged the pain from my memory as if it never existed.
But yes, Margolyes - amazing! You can always go down to Frankston to see her, you know...
I loved the Corney/Bumble scene! I swear that there two people on stage!
Post a Comment