REVIEW
Great Expectations
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
19th-24th March 2018
8pm
Great Expectations
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
19th-24th March 2018
8pm
Come to the Palace Theatre for ‘Great Expectations'
Great Expectations has arrived at the Palace, Westcliff and it is an interesting piece of theatre. The story of the orphan Pip, Miss Havisham, the abandoned bride who wants to wreak revenge on the male sex, and her spoilt adopted daughter Estella, is well known.
A Dickens’ novel with its full cast of characters could not be presented in its entirety, as the show would be too long. Therefore, the passage of time is presented by the ensemble cast of actors taking it in turns to narrate directly to the audience.
The book is very complicated and this production has the ensemble play all the different characters, apart from Pip himself and Miss Havisham. Sometimes the characters exit and return seconds later as another, this can be confusing. In all, there are nearly thirty named characters shared between nine people.
The director, Sophie Boyce Couzens has presented the play on a blank, dark stage where the only set is an enormous cage structure. This at various times turns into Miss Havisham’s house or Magwitch’s prison cell. The rest of the time the cast climb it, use it to hand over props, provide sound and lighting effects, dance and sing accompanied by an accordion or violin. This is a very creative piece of theatre.
Most of the audience were familiar with the story from either film and TV adaptations or the novel. However, I did wonder if there were people who didn’t know the story, whether they would have found it too involved.
The opening of the play with Magwitch popping out of a trapdoor in the floor of the cage instead of grabbing Pip in the cemetery didn’t seem atmospheric enough. Not only that, at the start the audience were hindered by the theatre’s noisy air con, which made it difficult to hear the actors. When it suddenly switched off, there was a sigh of relief.
Séan Aydon as Pip was very believable as the vulnerable boy desperate to please the upper class Estella. Then later as the boy grew into a man, he became the gentleman who looked down on his background. When his world was shattered, his despair was also very well played. His character is rarely off stage so this was a mammoth piece of work for any actor.
As there were so many parts played, I felt that some of Dickens’ character’s humorous eccentricities were lost, which was a shame. However, I thought James Camp as Herbert Pocket brought a nice quirky, jauntiness to his character. The fight scene with young Pip was very amusing.
In addition, Eliza Collings was very strong as the nasty Mrs Joe and morphed into Biddy the woman who later takes her place as Joe’s wife. Isla Carter was also good as the hard hearted Estella, changing to the sad, dispirited woman, damaged by a brutal husband when she meets Pip in later life.
Of course, the character everyone waits for is the austere, dilapidated bride Miss Havisham. Nichola McAuliffe, who is the only well-known name in this production, played her in a ghostly ray of light, and cut quite a glamorous figure. She was not at all the cobwebby spinster usually portrayed. The dramatic lighting brightened up the otherwise dark stage. Nichola played the character in a warmer way than is usual for the bitter woman. There was a lightness of touch to her acting with had a comic aspect.
Overall, it was a very interesting, ensemble piece. It must have been difficult for the adaptor Ken Bentley, to cram everything in. However, it might have been an easier watch if it hadn’t been quite so involved.
If you love Dickens and inventive theatre, go and see the Tilted Wig’s production of Great Expections. The show continues until Saturday.
Mon to Thurs 8pm and Thurs 2.30pm - £30, £28, £23
Fri and Sat 8pm and Sat 2.30pm - £32, £30, £25
Concessions £2 off (excludes Fri and Sat 8pm)
OAP mid-week matinee special £24
Performances are anticipated to last approx. 2 hours and 36 mins (inc interval)
Review Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
For the rest of tour dates plus interviews with Séan Aydon’s and Nichola McAuliffe here
A Dickens’ novel with its full cast of characters could not be presented in its entirety, as the show would be too long. Therefore, the passage of time is presented by the ensemble cast of actors taking it in turns to narrate directly to the audience.
The book is very complicated and this production has the ensemble play all the different characters, apart from Pip himself and Miss Havisham. Sometimes the characters exit and return seconds later as another, this can be confusing. In all, there are nearly thirty named characters shared between nine people.
The director, Sophie Boyce Couzens has presented the play on a blank, dark stage where the only set is an enormous cage structure. This at various times turns into Miss Havisham’s house or Magwitch’s prison cell. The rest of the time the cast climb it, use it to hand over props, provide sound and lighting effects, dance and sing accompanied by an accordion or violin. This is a very creative piece of theatre.
Most of the audience were familiar with the story from either film and TV adaptations or the novel. However, I did wonder if there were people who didn’t know the story, whether they would have found it too involved.
The opening of the play with Magwitch popping out of a trapdoor in the floor of the cage instead of grabbing Pip in the cemetery didn’t seem atmospheric enough. Not only that, at the start the audience were hindered by the theatre’s noisy air con, which made it difficult to hear the actors. When it suddenly switched off, there was a sigh of relief.
Séan Aydon as Pip was very believable as the vulnerable boy desperate to please the upper class Estella. Then later as the boy grew into a man, he became the gentleman who looked down on his background. When his world was shattered, his despair was also very well played. His character is rarely off stage so this was a mammoth piece of work for any actor.
As there were so many parts played, I felt that some of Dickens’ character’s humorous eccentricities were lost, which was a shame. However, I thought James Camp as Herbert Pocket brought a nice quirky, jauntiness to his character. The fight scene with young Pip was very amusing.
In addition, Eliza Collings was very strong as the nasty Mrs Joe and morphed into Biddy the woman who later takes her place as Joe’s wife. Isla Carter was also good as the hard hearted Estella, changing to the sad, dispirited woman, damaged by a brutal husband when she meets Pip in later life.
Of course, the character everyone waits for is the austere, dilapidated bride Miss Havisham. Nichola McAuliffe, who is the only well-known name in this production, played her in a ghostly ray of light, and cut quite a glamorous figure. She was not at all the cobwebby spinster usually portrayed. The dramatic lighting brightened up the otherwise dark stage. Nichola played the character in a warmer way than is usual for the bitter woman. There was a lightness of touch to her acting with had a comic aspect.
Overall, it was a very interesting, ensemble piece. It must have been difficult for the adaptor Ken Bentley, to cram everything in. However, it might have been an easier watch if it hadn’t been quite so involved.
If you love Dickens and inventive theatre, go and see the Tilted Wig’s production of Great Expections. The show continues until Saturday.
Mon to Thurs 8pm and Thurs 2.30pm - £30, £28, £23
Fri and Sat 8pm and Sat 2.30pm - £32, £30, £25
Concessions £2 off (excludes Fri and Sat 8pm)
OAP mid-week matinee special £24
Performances are anticipated to last approx. 2 hours and 36 mins (inc interval)
Review Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
For the rest of tour dates plus interviews with Séan Aydon’s and Nichola McAuliffe here
Ask the Audience
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Elena Clements – Leigh on Sea
It was a truthful performance of a classic tale. I thought Séan Aydon was very good as Pip. |
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Malcolm Toll – Southend
It was a very creative piece of theatre and I liked Séan Aydon’s Pip. He made the transition from a boy to a man very believable. However, I thought the play was a bit too long. |
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