Simon Callow will head back to the West End next month to reprise his role as Charles Dickens in a revival of Peter Ackroyd’s The Mystery Of Charles Dickens at the Playhouse theatre.
Replacing jukebox musical Dreamboats And Petticoats, Ackroyd’s biographical play is directed by Richard Twyman and runs from 13 September (press night 17 September) for a limited season until 3 November.
Fresh from his performance in the Trafalgar Studios’ Being Shakespeare as another great literary legend, Callow will once again weave his thespian magic to bring to life both the author behind classics including Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, and his memorable characters from Tiny Tim to Miss Havisham.
Marking the bicentenary of Dickens’ birth, The Mystery Of Charles Dickens is a celebration of the great storyteller and leads audiences on a journey through a land of pompous beadles and drunken midwives, taking in adventures and the most fashionable society parties on its way.
First seen in the West End in 2000, Callow’s original performance in the one-man show was described as “his most robust, inventive, lyrical, sulphurous and controlled” by the Sunday Times, with the show heralded as “a feast for anyone interested in Dickens or the art of performance”.
Best known for his roles in British films including A Room With A View, Four Weddings And A Funeral and Shakespeare In Love, Callow is also an acclaimed regular on stage, having recently appeared in the National Theatre production of Twelfth Night and in the West End alongside Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in Waiting For Godot.
Callow brings a wealth of knowledge to the production having written his own tribute to the author, Charles Dickens And The Great Theatre Of The World. His role will also appeal to Doctor Who fans following the actor’s two separate appearances as the Victorian author in the iconic series in 2005 and 2011.