Hard Times

In 2004 I adapted Charles Dicken's Hard Times for a UK tour with Love and Madness.

This version was set in both the 19th Century and the first term of Thatcher's Conservative government, 1979-83.

It was reviewed in the Western Mail:

Charles Dickens' Hard Times, as seen through the prism of 18 long years of Thatcher's Britain, is the innovative and hard-punching framework for Love and Madness Productions' engaging adaptation.

Provocative without becoming confusing, conceptual without becoming contrived - this superbly directed production (Catriona Craig) is highly original and experimental. This is adaptation (Richard Hurst) at its very best, bringing a new and highly dramatic perspective to a Dickens' classic.

The small, but strong, cast delivered impressive performances across the board, with some of the actors playing at least two distinct and, for the most part, convincing roles. Jonny MacPherson's versatile character work deserves particular mention - one moment a lisping caricature of a cockney Victorian fairground worker, the next a wholly plausible philandering and opportunistic "Tory" version of James Harthouse. Similarly, Rob Dugay managed to capture and effectively alternate between a somewhat sanctimonious Victorian moralism and a 1980's yuppie-like smug self-satisfaction when portraying the callously ambitious, Josiah Bounderby.

Following a predominantly Victorian emphasis in Act One, we are easily led toward taking an imaginative leap into Act Two and the period between 1979 and 1997 when the Conservative Party's vision for Britain prevailed. Mammon is God during hard times - be it the 1860's, the 1980's or indeed today - is an underlying message in this production.

The set design (Nick Hardwick and Clare Bousfield) worked a treat at summoning up a believable atmosphere of heavy industry, steam, smog and grime, be it suggestive of the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century or the eventual closure of the pits after the Miners' Strikes of the 1980s. The demise of the declining manufacturing and heavy industries, the wheeling and dealing of unscrupulous financiers and the meddling attempts by point-scoring politicians to quantify educational attainment like an accounts ledger, are all emphasised in this production's insightful critique of the intrinsic realities of high Capitalism.

This adaptation is not only a faithful reworking of the sleaze, exploitation, greed and corruption presented in Dickens' novel, it is a dramatic commentary on how little things have changed. The pronounced sense of thematic continuity from novel to stage is emphasised by brilliant character work, unfussy but effective set design and a refreshingly creative sound design (Alisdair McGregor) comprising popular music, metronomes and the sound of mechanical wheels and gyres turning.

Without assuming a jarringly preacher-like tone, this production makes clear links between Dickensian England and the policies espoused by the Conservatives between 1979 and 1997. A powerful example of this is the inventive lighting design (Andres Atkinson) which transforms what appear to be movable red-brick wall hoardings into projections of Margaret Thatcher giving her famous "Victorian values" political broadcast. Similarly, this device is repeated when Tony Blair's paternalistic maiden speech of 1997 is projected onto the set at the close of the performance, to the accompaniment of D:Ream's hit, Things Can Only Get Better !

Of course, as opposed to letting us seek refuge in the well-known tidy, justice-serving endings of so many of Dickens' novels, the closing refrain is heavily ironic. Despite undoubtedly tapping into the themes in Dickens novel that are topically resonant - this adaptation is far more than just the transposition of a novel to a theatre, or the transference of a page to a stage. An overpowering whiff of cynicism permeates the finale of this production, thus avoiding what could have been a pedestrian, bland and unsatisfactory attempt to duplicate the familiar, jaundiced yet at the time fashionable Victorian ending replete with moral platitudes and self-serving congratulations. In the spirit of a truly successful adaptation, this production brings a fresh and alternative perspective to a well known and well loved tale, without devaluing it.

This adaptation is an intelligent and topical expansion of the novel for a twenty-first century audience and as a result is a highly entertaining and dramatic tribute to Dickens' genius. A theatrical tour de force.

- Alison Forsyth

Tour dates were as follows:

September
23, 24, 25* Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield
27, 28 Wyvern Theatre, Swindon
29 Roses Theatre, Tewksbury
30 Queen's Hall, Hexham

October
1 Guildhall Theatre, Derby
2 Bridge House Theatre, Warwick School
6, 7 Norwich Playhouse, Norwich
8 High Wycombe Town Hall
11, 13, 14*, 15* UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, London
16 Explosion!, Gosport
19 Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead
20, 21 Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness
22 Blackfriars Arts Centre, Boston
23 Theatr Hafren, Newtown, Powys
28, 29 Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh

November
1, 2* Garrison Theatre, Lerwick
5* Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline
7 Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling
9 Hexagon Theatre, Middlesbrough
10 Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax
11* Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne
15 Theatr Colwyn, Colwyn Bay
16 Theatr Ardudwy, Harlech
17 Aberystwyth Arts Centre
18, 19* Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea

*date includes matinee

the poster