A Tale of Two Cities, Open Air Theatre review ★★★★★
The French Revolution is brought to life in this crude, clunky Open Air Theatre adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre 2017 Season
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – and it's brought to life at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens's story set during the French Revolution, is adapted for the stage this summer by playwright Matthew Dunster. It's the first in a two-part Dickens season, which ends with a family-friendly stage show of Oliver Twist.
Set against a background of discontent and riots in London and Paris, A Tale of Two Cities is the story of the impoverished standing up against the aristocratic. There's drama, battle, comedy and – of course – a love story.
Dunster's three-hour stage adaptation drags Dickens's prose into a contemporary setting, shaped by stacked shipping containers, trainers and tracksuits. The novel's vivid, wittily-wrought characters are rendered with a cartoonish clumsiness. A chorus of peasants trudge along while the vamped up aristocracy feast on chocolate fountains and the whole aesthetic is like This is England meets Moulin Rouge. All in all, the tapestry of suffering and resentment is packed into a rather crude caricature.
The transition from page to stage verges on rudimentary, as snippets of the novel's rich imagery are voiced through narration and chapter titles are projected on TV screens flanking the stage.
Detached from its own era and aligned with the contemporary refugee crisis, the story probes at class divides and feels all the more pertinent post the Grenfell fire. Occasionally the parallels are striking, especially at the end when the solace offered by returning to England is tinged by a border patrol interrogation. Yet often the mixed eras result in confusion, draining references to the Bastille and La Force prison of their significance.
The socialist core of Dickens's writing dominates this production, and certainly offers food for thought. But the real radical thing about his stories – both in the 1800s and now – is the sheer vitality, humour and sympathy with which all different classes of characters were described. It's a shame that this humanity is lost in a rather lifeless show.
Set against a background of discontent and riots in London and Paris, A Tale of Two Cities is the story of the impoverished standing up against the aristocratic. There's drama, battle, comedy and – of course – a love story.
Dunster's three-hour stage adaptation drags Dickens's prose into a contemporary setting, shaped by stacked shipping containers, trainers and tracksuits. The novel's vivid, wittily-wrought characters are rendered with a cartoonish clumsiness. A chorus of peasants trudge along while the vamped up aristocracy feast on chocolate fountains and the whole aesthetic is like This is England meets Moulin Rouge. All in all, the tapestry of suffering and resentment is packed into a rather crude caricature.
The transition from page to stage verges on rudimentary, as snippets of the novel's rich imagery are voiced through narration and chapter titles are projected on TV screens flanking the stage.
Detached from its own era and aligned with the contemporary refugee crisis, the story probes at class divides and feels all the more pertinent post the Grenfell fire. Occasionally the parallels are striking, especially at the end when the solace offered by returning to England is tinged by a border patrol interrogation. Yet often the mixed eras result in confusion, draining references to the Bastille and La Force prison of their significance.
The socialist core of Dickens's writing dominates this production, and certainly offers food for thought. But the real radical thing about his stories – both in the 1800s and now – is the sheer vitality, humour and sympathy with which all different classes of characters were described. It's a shame that this humanity is lost in a rather lifeless show.
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| What | A Tale of Two Cities, Open Air Theatre review |
| Where | Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, Inner Cir, Westminster, London, NW1 4NU | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Baker Street (underground) |
| When |
07 Jul 17 – 05 Aug 17, Thursday & Saturday matinee at 2.15pm. No matinee 8, 13 or 15 July |
| Price | £25 - £48.50 |
| Website | Click here to book via Regent's Park Open Air Theatre |