In his exhilarating one-man show, Simon Callow brings Charles Dickens to life, as well as some of his best-loved characters.
The play was written by Peter Ackroyd, author of the definitive Charles Dickens biography. As well as recreating scenes from Dickens' novels, Ackroyd also explores the writer's famous reading tours of Britain and America and provides a fascinating social history of 19th century London.
Simon Callow talks about his favourite Dickens characters and what inspired him to play the celebrated writer.
BBC Four: Can you explain how you worked with Peter Ackroyd in creating the play?
Simon Callow: I did a show called The Importance of Being Oscar, about Oscar Wilde, which was written by a great Irish actor called Micheal MacLiammoir. He invented this idea of telling the life story of a great writer through becoming his characters and becoming him. It was such a pleasure and I thought we must find another writer.
BBC Four: Why did you chose Dickens?
SC: The criterion was that the person was not only a wonderful writer but that his life should have been deeply interesting. When you look at English writers, Dickens is about the only person who fulfils these criteria. I thought, "Who could possibly write this?" Ackroyd came immediately to mind. I knew him a little bit socially, and obviously his book is the definitive biography, and I knew that he was interested in writing for the theatre.
BBC Four: Did you go back to the novels to find the voice for each character, or did you conjure them all up from memory?
SC: A bit of both. With Mrs Gamp from Martin Chuzzlewit one hardly needed to go back to find out about her, she's so very vividly described by him. He always describes his characters' voices and their physique so brilliantly. As people have said, they are cartoons, caricatures. They're grotesques really.
BBC Four: A lot of people are going to go back to the Dickens novels after watching this. Have any of the novels really meant something more to you a second time round?
SC: Bleak House is just the most astounding piece of work. There's huge, visionary poetry in it. Really quite remarkable. There are some I've never read! I've never read Barnaby Rudge I have to admit.
BBC Four: Were there certain characters or scenes from the Dickens' novels that you specifically wanted to be in the play, or was it all down to Ackroyd?
SC: It was a constant negotiation. And Patrick Garland, who directed it, made a huge contribution in those ways too. The Barnaby Rudge scene was absolutely Patrick's suggestion. Mrs Gamp was me; I was determined that she would be in there.
BBC Four: The play is full of great anecdotes. Did you learn anything new or unexpected about Dickens in the course of your research?
SC:Everyday I found some new and extraordinary thing. The whole thing about his conjuring is just utterly fascinating. He spent hours and hours and hours practising these conjuring tricks. It's just such a curious thing.
BBC Four: There are lots of laughs in the play. Presumably you've had some wonderful feedback from audiences.
SC:The nicest thing they say, and they say it quite a lot is, "I've got to start reading Dickens all over again now; I know him in a completely new way." Because most people don't know much about Dickens' life, and it's one of the most remarkable lives of the 19th century, and of all British history I would say.
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