Great Expectations is a rags to riches story that realises that riches don't necessarily bring happiness, and that moral and social improvement are two very different things.
It's the story of Pip, a young ophan, who stumbles through life encountering a convict, a curious older woman and a life alien to the one he is accustomed. His impoverished childhood changes when he meets Miss Havisham; a broken-hearted woman, locked in the past. He receives an unexpected mysterious fortune and move to London. Although initally oblivious to the dangers of social mobility, Pip eventually become disillusioned with London life and all the cachet that it brings.
A Victorian drama needs to balance melodrama with pathos and The Company manage to do this without being too bumptious and over the top and they maintain the moral and psychological intensity throughout. |
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Uncle Pumblechook, Alex Moore, knows how to balance the wit and melodrama of a Dickensian character, and is wonderfully pompous and righteous. Caroline Denby-Hollis is convincingly aloof as Miss Havisham and is a brilliant contrast to the terrifyingly bawdy Alison Munro. The all too brief appearance of Aged Parent, also played by Alex Moore, brought true Dickensian wit to the fore.
But the actor who stole the spotlight was Christopher Brownlee as Young Pip, who is the uncommon breed of a child actor who can actually act. His excellent performance managed to capture sadness, cheekiness and hope without a precocious bone in his body.
Great Expectations questions what is important in life, wealth and class or friendship and loyalty and is ultimately a lesson in morals.
Ali Davies |
