‘Procrastination is the thief of time. Collar him!’, declares David Copperfield’s great friend Mr Micawber, just one sharply drawn character from the spectacular array of Victorian life so acutely observed by Charles Dickens in his 1850 bildungsroman. Do not, though, let 175 years put you off, procrastinate at your peril, because there is nothing aged about Abigail Pickard Price’s adaptation of this classic novel, write Ed and Woody Gray.
Our team of reviewers might be forgiven for a degree of procrastination, however, to mop a damp brow and adjust our collars as we take stock of the whirlwind onstage presented to us by our cast of three.
It’s a big ask to transpose the metamorphosis of Trot, Copperfield, Davy, Daisy, Doady and David when he at last emerges, finally his own man set adrift from the undercurrents pushing and pulling him in ‘the silent gliding of his existence’ as he veers between Suffolk, Yarmouth, Switzerland and London.
Abigail Packard Price, who also directs, has some previous here, having created another successful three-hander in the form of Pride and Prejudice, and her cast clearly delight in the nonstop motion, triumphantly navigating scenes with props, costume and puppets. The swiftest of scene changes magically transform reappearing characters, brilliantly avoiding confusion. Luke Barton switches effortlessly from the warmth of housekeeper Pegotty to the menace of Mr Murdstone, who appears as a very tall hat, on a pole, wrapped in a coat, the shallowness of his character expertly realised. Perhaps there is a playful nod here to aspects of caricature that Dickens could be accused of in his multiple melodramas, but it scarcely matters when these characters are so well drawn that they are more than recognisable in our own times.
A few elements of the plot are skirted over, naturally, given the scope of the task, but there is still so much of Dickens himself in Copperfield, his innocent wonder at the world, his delight in imagination that takes us from the depths of despair to soaring heights of creative energy, the biographical details of young Davy put to work in a bottle labelling factory in Blackfriars, and his love of women. ‘How many girls is he falling in love with!,’ exclaims young reviewer Woody, knowing full well the answer. And yet, cleverly, they are all one woman, Louise Beresford, who conjures David’s formidable aunt Betsy Trotwood with as much forthright gravity as she brings airy lightness to David’s childlike wife Dora.
Eddy Payne ably plays the youthful Davy Copperfield throughout and we watch him seamlessly evolve into the adult David, navigating the shifting fortunes of those that surround him. Amidst all the pure physicality both Payne and Beresford bring tenderness when the pacy action slows. Incredibly, all three actors are onstage throughout.
Jermyn Street Theatre is one of London’s most intimate and welcoming and we were smiling throughout our visit. The final words must go to Woody, ‘Wait! I never knew Dickens could be so funny!’
Jermyn Street Theatre until December 20th.
Booking and full details: https://www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/show/david-copperfield/
