David Copperfield ★★★★ Jermyn Street Theatre | Nov 20 - Dec 20, 2025


It seems like an impossible task. Can you really squeeze all of the incidents and characters of one of Dickens' sprawling novels into a two-hour theatrical production and have all of the people played by only three actors? Amazingly, the Guildford Shakespeare Company manages to do just that. This theatrical version of Dickens' semi-autobiographical masterpiece is remarkably faithful to the original story, and somehow the small cast brings to life each of the author's wonderfully eccentric creations. From the ever optimistic Mr Micawber to the unctuous Uriah Heep every figure David Copperfield encounters on his life-journey becomes a believable and engaging personage. As in the novel, we begin at the moment of David's birth and end with his marriage to a paragon of Victorian virtue. Along the way we are introduced to a plethora of weird characters and must navigate a convoluted plot that is riddled with coincidence. Refreshingly in this telling, the familiar Dickensian formula is not parodied or undercut. Despite its preposterous shenanigans and unabashed sentimentality, adaptor and director Abigail Pickard Price treats the material with the respect it deserves and elicits exactly the audience responses that Dickens intends. Eddy Payne gives a virtuoso performance as the impressionable David who is more acted upon than actor in the story of his life, while Louise Beresford and Luke Barton display an astonishing ability to seamlessly slip from one character into another. The cast's timing is impeccable and the pacing throughout is tight and assured. The audience is completely taken into Dickens' odd world and is never given a moment to question it. By eschewing the high-tech gimmickry common in contemporary productions, this David Copperfield engages the audience's imagination and demonstrates the enduring magic of theatre, creating an experience that the whole family will enjoy.

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Steve Gregson

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 16B Jermyn St, London SW1Y 6ST, UK

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