JOIN The Pantaloons for a fog-filled adventure in Victorian London as their new adaptation of Charles Dickens’s darkly comic masterpiece Bleak House comes to Swindon on Tuesday.
When a dead body is discovered in Mr Krook’s Rag-and-Bone shop, a web of mysteries starts to untangle, with far-reaching consequences.
A company of five actors and musicians, The Pantaloons is poised to bring the novel’s cast of more than 50 characters to life in a thrilling tale of love, skulduggery and spontaneous combustion.
“It is quite a feat to bring this book to life on the stage,” says Stephen Purcell, The Pantaloons artistic director and author of the new Bleak House adaptation.
“Dickens’s novel contains 360,000 words and we only have two hours to tell the same incredible story.
“It is going to be quite unlike anything audiences have seen before.”
Bleak House is arguably Dickens’ masterpiece.
Its powerful female protagonists, interweaving mysteries, thrilling denouement and deliciously nasty villains make it many readers’ favourite.
Dickens’s larger-than-life characters and playful, self-reflexive prose lend themselves to the company’s unique brand of anarchic physical storytelling; a style that synthesises clowning, improvisation and live music to create truly unmissable shows.
Many still fondly remember the hugely popular TV adaptation but those unfamiliar with the novel should not be put off by the title: “Bleak House is not ‘bleak’ at all,” says Stephen. “It’s typical Dickens – hilarious larger-than-life characters and razor-sharp wit.”
The Pantaloons began life ten years ago as an open-air theatre company, busking plays for donations in parks and on the streets, where they developed an attention-grabbing, interactive and playful performance style.
“We characterise our work as post-modern folk theatre. We take well-loved tales and give them a contemporary twist, making them accessible for new audiences and showing seasoned fans something that they perhaps had not seen in them before,” says Stephen.
Bleak House will be at the Arts Centre on Tuesday, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £13, or £11 with concessions.
To book call 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.
– Marion Sauvebois
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here