Review: BLEAK EXPECTATIONS at The Criterion

Stuart King 21 May, 2023, 21:54

Zany Dickensian-inspired mayhem has landed at Piccadilly Circus in the form of a period farce with more Charles Dickens references than you could feasibly shake an ebony silver-topped cane at — and there really couldn’t be a more fitting venue to host such a Victorian comedy melodrama, than The Criterion.

Serena Manteghi, J.J. Henry, Ashh Blackwood, Dom Hodson and Rachel Summers - Bleak Expectations - credit Manuel Harlan

The Bin Family fall on hard times due to the malevolent meddling of a mischievous miscreant. Through various episodes their story eventually arrives at a happy ending having worked its way through every conceivable Dickens trope. The clichéd characters are either whimsically naive or downright villainous and each member of the cast plays to the ludicrousness in Mark Evans’ script, grabbing every one of the multitudinous opportunities to ham it up with joyous aplomb.

It would be easy to dismiss the skills required to deliver the timing of farce dialogue, but those puns, jokes and lines of rhythmic word-play have to land perfectly and are invariably accompanied by a physical reinforcement, so the cast and crew are to be commended for every one of Pippa’s anvil drops and the way in which their on-stage guest narrator (Sally Phillips when this reviewer attended) is shepherded into position, with script in hand, ready to move the narrative forward.

Each of the fabulous cast members in director Caroline Leslie’s production deserve a mention, but as in life, the villains get much greater spotlight. So, both Marc Pickering (who plays every member of the wicked Hardthrasher Family) and John Hopkins (revelling in his portrayal of arch baddie Gently Benevolent) are singled-out for demonstrating some exceptional acting chops as they attempt to thwart Pip Bin’s (Dom Hodson) chances of a happy ever after.

Bleak Expectations Tickets