Review: Dickens’ Women by Miriam Margolyes & Sonia Fraser
Sydney Theatre
16 October 2007
Full-text version of review published in The Daily Telegraph
British actor Miriam Margolyes is quickly becoming a darling of Australian audiences. Already appearing in a Harry Potter film, Blackadder and being the voice for a wide range of characters in Babe and Happy Feet, she is now capturing audiences with 23 different characters from Charles Dickens’ 
writings.
As recently as two weeks ago, she appeared on Andrew Denton’s Enough Rope, giving a charming and raw interview to the man infamous for giving just enough rope. Margolyes, such the woman she is, took it all and so much more.
Margolyes is quite a small women, but what she lacks in height she compensates with a booming voice that reaches to the very last row of the theatre. With this, and her infamous ability to caricature, she takes us on a journey through Charles Dickens’ life using the women of his life as key markers that defined who he was.
Starting from Dickens’ tumultuous relationship with his mother who forced him to work in a boot cleaning factory in Georgian England she follows the path not only through his novels and letters but the women he loved, the women he offended and the women he disdained.
Throughout, Margolyes steps out of the characters and then, one on one with the audience she gradually opens up the core of his life and the way his writing reflected a time and age in England that has now become a caricature for modern audiences. This coupled with Margolyes innate ability to portray the vulgar, the dainty and the tragedy makes for an evening that shifts between hilarity to sadness.
Directed by Sonia Fraser, it is a simple and elegant nights theatre. John Martin subtely adds to the mood on the piano and Nigel Hammer’s lighting, although sometimes a little too dark, appropriately shifts the mood and tone of Margolyes traverses through the great writers life.
http://www.dickenswomen.com/
Friday, 19 October 2007
Review: Dickens' Women
Posted by Nicholas Pickard at 9:51 am
Labels: British Plays, Review, Theatre
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7 comments:
NIDA, Nepean, VCA and WAAPA should march every one of their students to see this woman to show them what speaking on stage should be--not doing a "Neighbours" mumble, but being heard.
Since we aren't lucky enough to have a Cecily Berry in this country, it would be wonderful if Miriam could be persuaded to conduct a masterclass.
I couldn't agree with you more St Genesius. In fact, I was thinking to myself at the time... you just don't hear trained voices anymore... especially from NIDA.
The most vocally accomplished actor I have heard of late is Luke Mullins who recently appeared in Mercury Fur.
Ah yes, but Mullins is a VCA grad. And they definitely are taught how to speak on stage.
Indeed - you are absolutely right Alison. The VCA grads are miles apart from their NIDA counterparts...
That reminds me of a blog entry I need to do...
Er, here's the thing... I'm about 99% sure that Miriam has no formal training as an actor. But, god, what a voice!
NIDA does its students no favours by sending out a subliminal message that becoming the next Mel or Judy or Cate should be their life's ambition. The result is that the students focus on success in film and television, and leave the school with no concept of how to use their voice as a tool of the trade. They send so-called trained actors out into the world with them expecting to be given a body mike in a theatre that seats 200! What a pity that when all those millions of government money were spent on the enormous and often empty Parade theatre, there wasn't money to import a world-class voice teacher. But then, if the people at the top don't see the value, why should the students? And by the way Alison, I look forward to seeing your husband's new plays at STC next year!
And the great tragedy for Sydney is that while NIDA concentrates on getting its actors cast in Home and Away, the one institution that was developing well-rounded performers has all but disappeared.
Theatre Nepean, which has, along with all humanities courses been subject to the Education Vanquishment of the last ten years, famously developed actors that could not only act but rig some lights and build a set.
Unheard of at NIDA, apart from a little bit here and there at the start of the course.
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