16 Jun 2025
Deborah Heath is at the Abbey Theatre for Company of Ten’s interpretation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel…
As a huge Dickens fan, I certainly had Great Expectations walking into the Abbey Theatre for the beginning of their run. Dickens had a marvellous knack of writing socially active novels, highlighting lessons to be learnt from poverty and the justice system (his own father having gone to debtor’s prison) and yet never lost sight of the humour of real people in every day life. This talent helps readers to keep the reader engaged and makes them more likely to act on the overall message.
‘Great Expectations’ is one of Dickens’ finest novels with his core values at heart, exploring love, ambition and crime. It’s pleasing that the Abbey Theatre are running it at the same time as Victor Hugo’s ‘Les Miserables’ at the Roman Theatre as both stories explore very similar themes and periods in history. We are truly spoilt in St Albans this week!
Jo Clifford’s dramatisation of this 400 page novel packs a punch, successfully managing to be slick throughout with slower reflective points in exactly the right places .Dickens’ core values are still at the heart of the play and there are moments of humour and sadness.
It tells the story of orphan Pip, who is brought up as a blacksmith’s apprentice, yet longs for something more. Local wealthy recluse Miss Havisham takes Pip under her wing and gives him a taste of the finer things in life. When a little while later a mysterious benefactor enables him to adopt the life of London gentleman, Pip gets what he wants. At least he thinks he does.
Experienced director Martin Goodman also designed for the production and his overall vision was superbly realised. Staging was minimal to cope with the frequently changing settings. A back projection displayed Martin’s own beautifully drawn and well researched scene setting pictures. This illustrative approach was a lovely nod to the play being a book adaptation.
The acting was of a very good standard. Some performers were a little quieter than others but I am mindful that I saw the play on opening night and that this can easily be sorted out. Young Pip was double cast and in this performance was played by the hugely talented Finlay Murphy. His scenes alongside Lucy Bishop-Laggett as Estella were funny, touching and well executed- both young performers showed great promise.
Adult Pip, played by Laurence Ward, was extremely strong and aside from his marvellous character portrayal, we admired his ability to stand very still for long periods of time as he narrated and watched his own life story unfold! Elena Markham and Mike Dawson shone in every role they played, showing great versatility. Russell Vincent’s Mr Jaggers the solicitor was a dream to watch – he nailed the humour, authority and despair of this complicated role. Margie Skinner and Richard Hartless gave sympathetic performances and Rosemarie Partridge ‘s Miss Havisham was a pleasure to behold.
The CoT Wardrobe team did a superb job. Costumes were clearly well researched and highlighted the disparity between wealth and poverty and country and city life.
I felt the use of mid 20th century music between scenes could have been more of a feature. I assume the idea was to highlight the timeless nature of the play’s themes so perhaps to have music between every scene and mix it up with current chart numbers would hit the message home even more.
This is a marvellous production which should resonate with anyone who has loved, lost or aspired to a different life. The script is very strong and the tight cast have been well directed. There a strong overall vision here that I think would make Dickens very happy if he was watching from afar. Company of Ten have nailed it once again!
