Treat yourself to lessons in being humble, in atonement, and seeking love
Dickens’ Great Expectations is a mire of confusion, and VandL Productions do not try to make our lives easier. But this intrepid troupe, half of whom play many roles, do lead us quickly out of the Kent marshes, into the high society of London, and back again, in 100 minutes of unrequited love, misplaced love and lost love. But is it lost, asks Michael Holland.
In this much-filmed book we have been given several different endings by various directors. Dickens himself changed the original just before publication, so an audience that probably knows the story had to wait until the end to see which one Liz Love (Adaptor & Director) would go for.
Mrs Gargery ‘brought Pip up by hand’, and she doesn’t stop telling everyone. She doesn’t, though, make a point of letting people know that she beats him regularly, or that she is the big sister of the boy. Or that they are orphans! Her husband, Joe Gargery, is a much gentler person, who looks out for Pip while living in fear of his wife too!
Pip tries to keep a low profile around the house, but his life gets worse. He is threatened with death by escaped convict, Magwitch, who demands silence, food and a file to take off his shackles. Pip, terrified, provides.
Next he is called to the big house in the village where Miss Havisham – who was once left at the altar – replete in her ragged wedding dress, and a rotting wedding cake on the table, wants her adopted ward, Estella, to make Pip fall in love with her so that, over time, she can break his heart, while Miss Havisham looks on with perverted glee. The crowd want to boo and hiss the villains, but we remain respectable.
Eventually, Pip’s life improves when he is apprenticed to his brother-in-law Joe Gargery, and looks forward to being a blacksmith. That is until the London lawyer, Jaggers, appears with news of a secret benefactor who wants Pip to go to the capital, with a generous allowance, a job with Jaggers, good rooms in the city, and help in becoming a ‘Gentleman’. The heart and soul of that kind country boy are soon twisted; he becomes a snob, discards those that loved him; and all the while thinking his benefactor Miss Havisham is preparing him for a future with the woman he loves – Estella.
And like Charles Dickens did with his monthly magazine serialisations of his books, I’ll leave the story on that cliffhanger.
The cast of Reece Lewis, Vince Mathews, Aryan Chavda, Caroline Edwards, and Rachael Sparkes do a great job in bringing these well-known characters to life. They kept the drama – and the audience – on its toes from start to finish. But I was taken with Molly Hockham, who played Biddy, a young woman who experienced all the various versions of love before finally finding a kind of happiness. She had the vibe of Erin Doherty about her, which is what caught my eye.
This Great Expectations opened, I believe, with Billy Holiday’s hit, Good Morning Heartache, which is ideal for a story of so many lives waking up to heartache and, perhaps, never finding true love.
Treat yourself to lessons in being humble, in atonement for hurting the wrong people, and seeking happiness in love.
Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, 410 Brockley Road, London, SE4 2DH
Box office: www.brockleyjack.co.uk or 0333 666 3366 (£1.80 fee for phone bookings only)
Dates: Tuesday 3 – Saturday 14 November 2026 at 7.30pm.
Tickets: £17, £15 conc., 13+.
