Bleak Expectations, Crescent Theatre Birmingham Review
Written by Charis for Theatre and Tonic.
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own.
Bleak Expectations is stated to be ‘The story Charles Dickens might have written after drinking too much gin...!’ Having watched it I certainly agree that there is some inspiration taken from Dickens, with adult humour added in. Bleak Expectations started as a BBC Radio 4 series and has since been adapted for the stage. This production marks the first production for the Crescent Theatre’s 2024/25 season.
Monty Python and Carry On humour characteristics are certainly intertwined into the footprint of this show, but it manages to form its unique style. Ideal for adult audiences, Bleak Expectations has innuendos, adult language and references. Despite this, there’s still an essence of childlike comedy making it suitable for a range of adult audiences to enjoy.
The characters have names that function as puns and jokes or as obvious tell-all’s of the character. a clear yet loving parody of Dickens. Expect for one character whose name is the opposite to his traits. The names of the characters serve as an important aspect of the comedy and have the audience laughing every time a new character is introduced.
The story is narrated by Graeme Braidwood as the older Sir Phillip bin, who by his own testament is a great man, and tells the hilarious story of the trials of his family, flashing back to his memories as a young man played by Andrew Elkington. Braidwood and Elkington work incredibly well together as the same character with the one narrating and the other acting out the memories both in a comedic fashion.
The piece is full of 4th wall breaks which add to the comedy of the theatre piece immensely. The social commentary on Dickensian attitudes towards women is a strong element led by Pippa Pin played by Katie Goldhawk. Her energy as Pippa is tremendous and it is superb when she gets riled up about rights and says statements like women can be airline pilots whatever one of those is.
As in typical Dickensian style, a series of unfortunate tragedies lead to the typical story of an orphan set to inherit large amounts and being beset by a greedy guardian seeking to steal all of it away. While in comedic fashion the father Thomas Bin played by Nathan Hawkins dies strangely.
The young "pip bin" is sent to a boarding school, where he meets the first of the Hardthrasher family, his headmaster, who revels in cruelty. Pip is urgently trying to escape in order to rescue his sister Pippa bin from a forced marriage to a gently benevolent one. The portrayal and over the top stylings of the archetypal characters are even funnier when familiar with Dickens, and the regular jokes at the expense of the actors, the play, and the general styling of make this piece an excellent watch.
Every scene of the play is filled with laughter and watching the piece we found ourselves thoroughly absorbed by the piece. All the actors chosen for Bleak Expectations fit together on stage extremely well and the chemistry is strong. Additionally, each actor is well-placed within their role.
While adapted from a much longer radio series, this piece is an excellent standalone, and was performed to absolute mastery. If you would like to experience some humorous English adult humour this piece would fit the bill.
At Crescent Theatre until 21st September 2024.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
