THE STAGE - Reviewed by Gerald Berkowitz 13th August 2012
Miriam Margolyes shares her love of and occasional exasperation with Charles Dickens in this programme of readings and commentary that gives the popular actress full opportunity to display her skills and versatility.
Touching on characters ranging from the sweet to the grotesque, the comic to the pitiable, and the fictional and real women in Dickens' life who inspired them, Margolyes makes the case that, while not necessarily the kindest or least sexist man of his age, the novelist could certainly create memorable female characters.
High points include the surprisingly cheery undertaker's aide Mrs Gamp from Martin Chuzzlewit, The Old Curiosity Shop's Little Nell in an uncharacteristically happy moment, Bleak House's pathetic Miss Flite and the ghostly Miss Havisham of Great Expectations, but the single most enjoyable sequence has her playing both roles in Beadle Bumble's wooing of Mrs Corney in Oliver Twist.
Margolyes also races through a dismissive medley of some of Dickens' soppier heroines and a more respectful one of his independent spinsters.
The actress maintains a warm rapport with her audience throughout, and if much of the programme might be just as effective on radio, there is no doubt that her physical presence adds to the warmth of the hour.
Posted : 13th August 2012