"Brilliant...Holloway's
fine seven strong company lead us through Dickens' complex story
with immense understanding and passsion...a brilliant tribute
to a great novelist"
The Scotsman
Red Shift's production
of Nicholas Nickleby brought fresh life to a familiar
classic confirming the company's reputation for stunning literary
adaptations and rediscovering the punch that made Dickens famous
both as a master storyteller and a ground-breaking social commentator.
Relocated to the 1950's, at a time when British society was revealing
its darkest secrets, this powerful story focused on the exploits
and adventures of Nicholas who, with his mother and sister, is
left destitute after his father's death. Setting out to rescue
his family from misfortune our hero soon finds himself locked
into a dangerous conflict with his uncle, Ralph Nickleby, who
we see decline into villainy, intent on taking his family with
him.
Dickens created in Nicholas Nickleby some of his
most memorable characters including the Crummles' farcical theatrical
company, the pathetic and vulnerable Smike, the archetypally
wicked Sir Mulberry Hawk and the mindlessly cruel Wackford Squeers,
the infamous headmaster of Dotheboys Hall.
An inventive, exciting
and intellectually satisfying retelling of a classic story with
dramatic drive and a sharp contemporary resonance.
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"A
Dickens with a difference - well worth seeing"
The Stage
Photo 1957: ©
Roger Mayne
c/o Mary Evans Picture Library
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