By Tobias Kunzel and Harry Meacher
Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate
Here is something to shout about. The exceptional production of Charles Dickens’ semi autobiographical novel.
The thing that comes over the footlights is the huge amount of love that has gone into this show.
Dickens’ characters are so well known and rightly so, Mr D had an eye for the eccentricities and dishonesty of the human race. His central character was not so perceptive. There were so many villains in his life, any sweetly spoken person was an angel in his eyes and a great disappointment when the misdemeanours are rCOPPERFIELD! *****
The Musical
evealed. The Steerforth story is a good example
The boy’s sweet mother marries the cruel, selfish monster Murdstone. The chanting of Murstone Murdstone from the whole cast shows the hatred and agony this man caused in the life of a child and why Dickens campaigned all his life for the rights of children
It was fascinating how the 13 cast managed to play 25 parts with absolute accuracy. It must have been very busy off stage. It is almost Incredible that the evil Murdstone played by Timothy Weston also becomes the grown up David and Mark Underwood as the upper class charmer, Steerforth, is also the villainous weirdo Uriah Heep.
The sound system was tricky at first but it righted itself as the play progresse
The whole of act one shows Davy growing up in the atmospheres surrounding children in the nineteenth century. The boy was well played with enormous confidence by a girl Georgia Beresford-Smith.
Debden Clarke plays the powerful woman who dismissed Murdstone from the life of Davy. Wonderful to have a really strong woman. She literally saved his young life. .Dickens had a romantic view of middle class women, although Steerforth’s Mother shows how her attitudes were reflected in her son’s performance. She actually says in this production something like “ the working class have such a rough time, it is lucky they don’t have feelings like us”.So in Steerforth’s eyes, the seduction of Emily was not important. That is what she was there for.
Much of the enchantment of this piece is due to the author Harry Meacher who ldirects and who also plays the role of Mr D himself who gave many readings of his own work.
The music is by Tobias Kunzel and has a definite German feeling about it which reflects the romance and sometimes sombre trends of the story.
The performances throughout are exceptional but A special mention needs to go to Georgio Galassi as an enchanting Micawber, having miraculously taking over the role at the last minute. His song and dance number with Uriah Heep brings the house down
alinewaitesreviews.uk
pyekan 