★★★★★

“It all builds to a delightfully satisfying panto-esque cacophony of characters”

With only three actors on a tiny (but intricate) set, Abigail Pickard Price’s magical adaptation of David Copperfield somehow brings an entire Dickensian universe to life, deliciously populated with a stream of vibrant characters, the requisite plot twists, and an attention to detail that would make Charles Dickens proud.

As a young David Copperfield (Eddy Payne) flees his stern and violent stepfather to seek his way in the world, Neil Irish’s masterfully evocative set and costumes bring us inside law offices, outside onto small village streets, and even into the sea and along its rocky shore with no more than a cleverly placed piece of fabric here, or a stackable trunk there. Together with the soundscape (Matt Eaton), lighting (Mark Dymock), and movement direction, the overall design seamlessly journeys from place to place and character to character. Each scene change is more creative and surprising than the next – and yet never distracts from the story’s momentum.

The acting is exemplary – every character is finely drawn and a tribute to Dickens’ imagination and keen observations of human nature. Louise Beresford morphs from cunning villain to cocky scoundrel to radiant love interest without a glitch. Luke Barton brings utterly absorbing heart and individuality to each of his nine characters. The verbosity and geniality of his Mr. Micawber in particular is a tour-de-force in itself. The dizzying spin of characters is anchored by Payne’s earnest and endearing David Copperfield.

Amy Lawrence’s movement direction is outstanding: whether leaping from boulder to boulder or riding in a carriage or – most impressively, being beaten by the fearsome Mr. Murdstone (who is hauntingly represented by a large brown top hat and empty coat) – the movement is so precise and believable that the audience becomes willing conspirators with the ensemble, suspending our disbelief and diving headfirst into this brightly painted world. What must have taken hours of disciplined rehearsal looks effortless and fun to us.

It all builds to a delightfully satisfying panto-esque cacophony of characters represented by hats and puppets and actors alike, made possible by the extremely well-oiled transitions these gifted actors have perfected.

To condense a Dickens novel of epic proportions into a two hour play on a miniscule stage is no small feat, and this production is anything but small. In her adaptation, Pickard Price expertly selects the most salient of the many details the book offers, and as a director, she squeezes every juicy morsel out of her talented team to create something that is bursting with fun and colour. Go see it. It is the perfect antidote to the long grey winter that is upon us.

THE MEAT KINGS! (INC.) OF BROOKLYN HEIGHTS

Park Theatre

★★★★

“Director George Turvey keeps the play dynamic and ever surprising”

Hannah Doran’s feisty new play The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights beat 1,588 competitors to win Papatango’s 2024 New Writing Prize and you can see why. A love story, workplace rivalries, second chances, deceit and high stakes (if you’ll indulge the pun) are all coursing through the cutting room of a family-run butcher shop.

Two apprentice butchers find themselves in competition for a promotion, and as their cut test is fast approaching, they enlist the help of their colleagues to win at any price. With raw meat and sharp knives on stainless-steel counters, and the thrum of salsa music in the background, the butchery is a pressure cooker as America’s structural violence swirls outside. Impossible health care costs, corporate takeovers driving out small business owners, and anti-immigration policies all become intensely personal as each of Doran’s finely drawn characters tries to survive.

From the moment the actors enter dancing and teasing one another to sound designer Asaf Zohar’s compelling soundtrack, the acting is uniformly strong. As Billy, Ash Hunter is jaded and vulnerable in equal measure. Mithra Malek, as the vegetarian T, is grounded and never pushes – so her rush of rage toward the end feels earned and raw. Jackie Clune’s Paula is incredibly believable, her no-nonsense warmth and urgency giving pace and push to the rest. And Marcello Cruz plays the fresh-faced naïve “Dreamer” with just enough playfulness and sincerity that you can’t help but fall in love. Dialect coach Caitlin Stegemoller ensures their Brooklyn accents are all pitch perfect.

Director George Turvey keeps the play dynamic and ever surprising, leaving us with a powerful and unsettling image that begs the question – who and what is really being butchered here? Mona Camille’s set design and Bethany Gupwell’s lighting not only evoke a butcher shop’s back room, contained with its curtains of translucent strips of plastic, but the well-calibrated wing lighting constantly reminds us of the pulsing world off-stage as well – the front of the shop, the refrigerated backroom where the meat is kept, the rough streets beyond.

And this is the ultimate strength of Doran’s play – how it brings the damaged outside world into the personal lives of the characters, exploring the extent to which our individual choices make a difference in the face of broader inequities and bigotry. T’s somewhat sanctimonious speech in the last third of the play admonishing her cousin Billy’s tendency to blame the system for his mistakes is the only false note as it oversimplifies and undercuts what is otherwise a very sophisticated and complex exploration of America’s predicament. As ICE becomes a household name, as New York elects its new mayor, this is a play that is even more relevant and haunting today than it was when it was written last year.

DAVID COPPERFIELD

Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★★★

“It all builds to a delightfully satisfying panto-esque cacophony of characters”

DAVID COPPERFIELD

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed on 25th November 2025

by Samantha Karr

Photography by Steve Gregson

Previously reviewed at this venue:

DAVID COPPERFIELD

DAVID COPPERFIELD

DAVID COPPERFIELD

THE MEAT KINGS! (INC.) OF BROOKLYN HEIGHTS

Park Theatre

★★★★

“Director George Turvey keeps the play dynamic and ever surprising”