Great Expectations School Production - Review
The opening scene of Ben Ventress' highly publicised adaptation of Great Expectations was hardly a graveyard, as Dickens intended.
BRGS' main hall was jam-packed with all shapes and sizes of Charles Dickens (and Ben Ventress) fans. Students from a range of years starred in the epic two-night piece; in progress since July of last year when Ventress hitched a horse and carriage to Dickens' native country Kent and brought a piece of the legendary author back with him. Arguably he could have been possessed by Dickens' spirit, maintaining that he was to keep as true to the book as possible and produce a six hour play. 'The idea of adapting Dickens' masterpiece came to me when we took some students who had studied the text to see a local dramatisation," Ventress explains, "and we all felt considerable frustration at how much of the original text was altered to fit a two hour show."
Ventress, who also starred in the play as Pip's secret benefactor Abel Magwitch, also took many scenic pictures of the Kent landscape and rolling moors as a backdrop to create atmosphere throughout the performance. Not that the play needed much more atmosphere than the highly anticipated graveyard brawl over who got the last pork pie, between Headmaster Mr Morris and Abel Magwitch himself. I, however, am not convinced that convicts around the turn of the nineteenth century wore Calvin Klein's best. Nine and a half out often for comedy value. The second scrap, which took place upon a 'steamer', rivalled the first, however with tragic consequences - an integral part of the BRGS landscape was demolished as the two convicts fought to the death encased in several yards of the stage's curtains, causing it to dramatically rip clean in two. But the show must go on.
The quality of acting throughout the performance was excellent. The varying age range of the actors ensured a good interaction between the character types; of children 'not speaking until they were spoken to', and the social boundaries that were unfairly enforced on different classes. Students really got into their roles, (give or take a few lines), and I was impressed as to the realism of their characters. Wesley Pauline in particular was fantastic as the lovable Joe Gargery, brother-in-law to Pip, and also Daniel Marshall made a tremendous Mr Wemmick, the stumbling clerk to Mr Jaggers. Actors were no doubt inspired by their incredible costumes, hired from the National Theatre Company, and so authentic they wouldn't look out of place strolling down Oxford Street on a Tuesday afternoon in 1843. The most remarkable costume, (from any girl's point of view), was without a doubt Estella's (played by Jenny Cheeseborough) sparkling white gown: A Vogue-worthy piece - however I'm not sure how it would have gone down at the Jolly for the after-party.
Ventress had great expectations for his play, and he pulled it off extremely well. It was obviously a challenge to keep a few hundred people's interest levels up for nearing six hours, gratefully aided by the refreshing tea and cake breaks, and this is indeed an achievement in itself. I felt that this scale of effort was undermined in the Rossendale Free Press' review of Great Expectations particularly in their misspelling of 'Miss Haversham' being played by 'Helen Cadd'. Helen Codd was superb in her role as the original Bridget Jones, spray-on greying hair and all, however the star of the show who indeed 'broke his leg' as the saying goes was Keegan Curran, who played Pip with a significant frankness that really pulled the play together. .. which is of course necessary; his presence taking up at least five and a halfhours of the audience's time.
All in all, Great Expectations was an enjoyable experience and a credit to Mr Ventress, who was presented with a bottle of finest whiskey on the second night, arguably to curb his pent-up stress. The audience let rip with applause come curtain-time and showed their admiration. And one member of the audience even let rip halfway through the first night.
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