Cranford

Synopsis

This classic comedy follows the small absurdities and major tragedies in the lives of the people of 1840s Cranford. The witty and poignant story invites the audience into the middle class lives of the town’s single and widowed female inhabitants - and their obsession with propriety and maintaining the appearance of gentility.

Our Review:

Simon Cole - 9 November 2010

Any new production of a play that has just recently been so successfully adapted for television is inevitably going to be subject to unfair comparison – No stage presentation could possibly match the creative and financial resources available to the likes of the BBC. When the subject play is Cranford, and the TV adaptation features such theatrical luminaries as Dame Judi Dunch, Dame Eileen Atkins and the incredible Imelda Staunton, it takes a brave man indeed to try and follow that.

Written by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell in 1851, Our Society at Cranford focuses on the lives and social etiquette of a small community in early Victorian England. That the community is almost entirely made up (or dominated at least) by the good widows and spinsters of the parish, gives plenty of scope for gossip, disapproval and shocking social climbing. Not to mention a fixation on the latest style in bonnets!

Ian Dickens’ new revival is faithful to the original 1951 sta...

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Latest User Review

Peter Rush - 12 November 2010:

I went with my wife and based on comments here, my expectations were very low. It was so much better than I expected. The acting was really first class and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Well worth seeing....

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