Abroad

Dickens Unplugged

 (Comedy Theater; 781 seats; £46 ($90) Top)

By KAREN FRICKER

LONDON A Mark Goucher, Wimpole Theater, Araca Group presentation in association with Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theater of a musical in two acts written and directed by Adam Long.
 
With: Joseph Attenborough, Matthew Hendrickson, Simon Jermond, Adam Long, Gabriel Vick.
 

It's not called "The Complete Works of Charles Dickens (Abridged)," but it might as well be. Written, directed by and starring Reduced Shakespeare Company co-founder Adam Long, "Dickens Unplugged" bears all the hallmarks of the Reduced Company's approach -- a madcap speed-through of a canonical literary oeuvre, told with distinctively North American accent and demeanor -- with the innovation that most of the narrative here is told through song. Brit critics have been largely hostile to the show's "Californian" humor and lack of reverence toward "Charlie D," but it's clear locals are not this show's ideal market: This one's for vacationing Yanks.

Show (which comes to the West End after runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Yvonne Arnaud Theater in Surrey) assumes only the most basic audience knowledge of Dickens' works -- probably more true of Americans than Brits, who read his novels as part of the high school curriculum.

Because it can't make many knowing textual jokes, the overall premise of the show's humor is the juxtaposition of Victorian values with contemporary American language and attitudes: "I am so sick of your shit," deadpans Catherine Dickens (Simon Jermond in a curly blond wig and hoopskirts), in response to her husband's neglect of his 10 children in favor of an adoring ingenue.

The excellent comic timing and versatility of the five-man ensemble (three of whom are native Brits putting on American accents), a cracking pace, and the entertainment value of Long's close-harmony songs carry this approach. But the show also wisely knows its limits, glossing over wide swathes of Dickens' lengthy career and distilling some novels to four-line ditties.

Lez Brotherston's setting -- a claustrophobic wood-paneled stage with dozens of props and trinkets hanging from the ceiling -- creates an atmosphere of exaggerated Victoriana, like a Dickens ride at Disneyland. A snappy prologue introduces the concept: This bunch is "the biggest Charles Dickens tribute band in Santa Cruz, Calif.," and the show is their homage to the life and writing of the master.

They start out with the best-known Dickens offshoot: Lionel Bart's musical "Oliver," here parodied with songs like "As Long as He Beats Me" and "Where Is Lunch?"

This show could also, potentially, be faulted for bastardizing Dickens' greatness, a criticism it anticipates by introducing the character of Dickens himself (Gabriel Vick), dismissing "Oliver's" lightness and earnestly proclaiming his social agenda: "Why? Why is there so much cruelty?"  Backbone of the show then becomes a biography of the writer illustrated by mini-musical dramatizations of the novels themselves.

The musical style is a blend of bluegrass, traditional musical theater (the signature tune is a knockoff of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd"), and Who-like riffs (in the final "Christmas Carol" sequence, Tiny Tim's crutch is revealed to be an apple-green electric guitar).

The humor is mostly of the stoner variety (at least one textual surprise is met by a deadpan "dude") which at times takes on a Woody Allenish Jewish cast. Viewers who know their Dickens are rewarded with the occasional insider reference (a scene in which the writer hallucinates characters and real-life figures from his past is an echo of a famous historical print), but overall this show is designed to provide maximum laughs with the lightest dusting of educational benefit.

Timed deftly to arrive along with summer tourist season, and featuring an innovative Wednesday to Monday playing schedule (bucking the Brit theater tradition of dark Sundays), it seems well positioned to overcome critical hostility and become a local fixture.

Sets and costumes, Lez Brotherston; lighting, Jon Clark; sound, Gareth Owen for Orbital Sound; co-director, Alex Jackson-Long; production stage manager, Igor. Opened, reviewed June 9, 2008. Running time: 1 HOUR, 50 MIN.