Epic ‘Nickleby’ powerfully gives life to Dickens’ work

From the dark gloom of London’s slums to the cheer of a traveling theater company, PlayMakers Repertory Company breathes life into every scene of its epic play “Nicholas Nickleby.”

The production is presented in two parts, spanning six and a half hours in total.

The fantastic cast flexed their artistic muscle, as 25 actors portrayed 150 characters.

From the beginning, the stage provided a bleak, powerful setting for the story. Using different colored lights, such as red to highlight a traumatic scene and orange to highlight the seedy criminal areas of town, the stage effectively conveyed multiple locations with only a few changes.

Justin Adams was an excellent Nicholas Nickleby, portraying all of the character’s emotions perfectly. In one particular scene, he switched from a dark dramatic mood to a cheerful narration to the crowd in a split second, displaying his versatility.

Saturday’s showing included Part 1 at 2 p.m. and Part 2 at 7:30 p.m. with a two-hour break for dinner. The marathon performance was trying on both the audience and the actors. Though the actors seemed a bit more fatigued in Part 2, flubbing a few lines, they still conveyed their roles with great feeling.

A few members of the cast said they felt most tired during the second intermission, which came just before one of the play’s most dramatic scenes, but this fatigue did not translate to the stage.

The play employed several interesting techniques. The most dramatic portion of the final act had every actor on stage, setting the somber mood and even becoming the set themselves. Various characters also appeared as narrators, occupying varying portions of the stage.

Because the characters used English accents throughout, a few characters were harder to understand, such as the rolling r’s of Peg Sliderskew. Altogether, however, the accents were consistent and matched the various characters’ social standing.

The costumes were intricately designed, and the skill of the designers was evident in the work. With only 25 actors playing 150 characters, several quick changes were required, but all came off without any noticeable lag, though perhaps with a bit of hurried breath.

The actors effectively portrayed their characters’ emotions from frivolity to misery, the costumes were well constructed and beautiful, and the stage and sound set the scene, fully inviting the audience into the vivid life and adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.



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