Dickens Is Unplugged & Closing at Comedy, 29 Jun
Only one week after its opening night (9 June 2008, previews from 23 May), Reduced Shakespeare Company co-founder Adam Long’s latest show, Dickens Unplugged, has posted early closing notices at the Comedy Theatre, where it had been booking until 22 September (See News, 16 Apr 2008).
It’s the latest in a spate of recent musical closures – Gone With The Wind, Spamalot and Cabaret have all announced closing dates in recent weeks (See News, 5 Jun 2008) – and Dickens Unplugged has the dubious honour of being the shortest-lived of all of them, closing on 29 June 2008 after just 43 performances.
Writer and director Long (pictured), who also stars in the show, was a founder member of the Reduced Shakespeare Company who were behind The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), which holds the title as the West End’s longest-running comedy, residing for nearly a decade at the Criterion Theatre from 1996. But he was unable to emulate either the popular or critical success this time around, receiving largely poor reviews after last Monday’s opening, Paul Taylor of the Independent labelling Dickens Unplugged “an abridgement too far” (See Review Round-Up, 12 Jun 2008).
Set in contemporary mid-West America and inspired by the folk music of the 1960s and 70s, Dickens Unplugged gives voice to a host of Dickens’ most eccentric and loved characters, told through the eyes of “the biggest Charles Dickens tribute band in Santa Cruz”. Oliver Twist, Tiny Tim, David Copperfield, Miss Havisham, Charles Darnay and many more appear in Long’s 20 original songs which include “Aint Goin Back to Blackin” and “Far Far Better Thing”.
Despite its short stint in the West End, this might not be the end of the production, which premiered at the 2007 Edinburgh fringe. Adam Long told Whatsonstage.com recently of his post-London plans for the show: “We’d like to tour the show nationally and then I’d love to take it to New York … Their sense of humour isn’t quite as cruel as the British, but I still think it would go down well.”
A statement issued by show producers – Mark Goucher (also behind the long-running Complete Works) and Wimpole Theatre (in association with the Araca Group New York) – today said that they “wish to thank the talented cast, creative team and company for all their hard work and dedication to this production. Despite fantastic performances and enthusiastic audiences, the ticket sales have not been sufficient and the producers have had to make the difficult decision to close the show.”
Ticket holders for performances after 29 June 2008 should contact the original point of sale for full refunds. No further productions have yet been announced for the Comedy.
– by Theo Bosanquet
