A ONE-man show celebrating the life and work of Charles Dickens will help raise much-needed funds for Barnard Castle’s arts centre.
The Genius of Charles Dickens was conceived about ten years ago by Chris Foote-Wood. He has since performed the show at a variety of venues, including five years running at the Edinburgh Festival.
He is now bringing the spoken work performance to The Witham on January 7, offering theatregoers a post-Christmas pick-me-up.
Mr Foote-Wood, a town councillor in Barney, said: “Dickens used to read his work in public and it was a very popular theatrical piece of entertainment.
“Dickens used to act out the parts and that is what I attempt to do. I look to put voice and actions to match the parts and bring popular and well known Dickens characters to life.
“I am trying to emulate what Dickens did and it’s always had a good reception from the audience.”
Mr Foote-Wood said the show comprises a series of short readings from various novels, with a brief introduction to each character.
“I like to give the audience as theatrical an experience as possible,” he added.
He said he was particularly proud to have performed the show in Edinburgh.
“I always wanted to do a one-man show and always wanted to do Edinburgh,” he said.
“I never got round to it, but when my grand-daughter made her debut at Edinburgh, I thought it was about time I got on and did it.”
He added: “I am very proud of that and we managed to fill a small theatre.”
Due to Covid, when Mr Foote-Wood steps onto the stage at The Witham, it will be the first time he has performed the show for two years.
Tickets for the show are on sale for £8 and £5 concessions, with proceeds to The Witham.
Go to www.thewitham.org. uk for more details.
