Brighton Year-Round 2025

Pickwick and Weller

New Venture Theatre, Brighton

Genre: Adaptation, classical, Comedy, Costume, Fringe Theatre, Live Music, Mainstream Theatre, Musical Theatre, New Writing, Theatre

Venue: New Venture Theatre Studio

Festival: Brighton Year-Round

Low Down

Review

A return. But not as we know it. In April 2019 twice BAFTA-winning Barry Purchese’s Pickwick and Weller premiered at New Venture, directed by Rod Lewis with a set by West End designer Tim McQuillan-Wright. There’s help from Dickens – provocatively heralded here in lower case! Now, expanded as a quasi-musical with musical director Michael James’s numbers frankly more memorable than many touring commercial ones, this Pickwick and Weller, again pacily directed by Lewis, only runs to another fifteen minutes beyond its original two-hours-fifteen: filleted from Dickens’ 1836 1000-page first novel. It plays till December 20, and along with Ibsen’s Ghosts must be counted the NVT show of the year. And in show terms – it’s a stopper.

It feels bigger though, even more joyous.  The Studio space (again!) boasts one more actor – twenty, several multi-roling. Some cast return too.

Pickwick’s taken by Culann Smyth, previously father of Sam, Tony Weller (now Bill Griffiths with impressive mutton-chop side-burns and an alacrity to match, who in 2019 played lawyer Dodson). Smyth eschews mild absurdity for shrewd truth. Bertie Purchese – previously Alfred Jingle – is Sam Weller. Both eye and ear-catching, he nimbly commands his master. He makes Weller more interesting, more independent, less sentimental faithful servant, more a friend.

Jingle’s now taken by Tom Slater-Hyndman (last time blimpish Nathaniel Winkle): whose voice, poise and superb camp produce a flaneur and charlatan of champagne quality. Who wouldn’t fall for him? Laura Scobie is forthright Mary, Sam’s eventual fiancée. Scobie’s Mary is a force of nature. And in this she not only gets a song but the last word.

James provided songs in 2019. Now they’re more extensive and ‘Open your arms to life’ ripples permutations as the cast, blocked with authority and clarity swirl in the diminutive space.

Again set in-the-round McQuillan-Wright’s set, built by a team including him and Simon Glazier is less teetering now, but more realist: where did they get those wooden balustrades?  A few chairs, platforms and cast are cheek-by-jowl with the audience. It’s neatly lit by Sabrina Giles with memorable pre-recorded music also by James

Karen Hindermarsh designs costumes – a dove-grey overcoat for Pickwick, with exquisite details of dress, notably the varying dress for Alfred Jingle as a ‘rich’ captain or ragged prisoner. Top hats and much black complete an in-period outfitting, whether sergeants and lawyers, womens’ everyday or Sunday best. To top it there’s Richard Blennerhassett’s hair and make-up, with Ian Black is armourer. Alex Worrall’s movement again proves crucial in this tight space, though now seems more spacious. It’s seamless too – particularly exits through doors.

Key points of this picaresque, truly episodic novel are delivered. We’re reminded it was written in episodes. Samuel Pickwick inaugurates a Club with three friends (Alistair Lock’s idiotically wibbly Nathaniel Winkle, Spike Padley’s surprisingly dashing poet Augustus Snodgrass, Michael Urwin’s faded if elegant swell Tracy Tupman).

They’re to travel Britain and report on their findings, but usually travel together. Sarah Donnelly’s flurrying Mrs Bardell, a widow and landlady to Pickwick. is clearly distressed at this till she realizes it’s not France they’re off to. We’re alerted: her attachment is something Pickwick’s oblivious of. Donnelly’s Bardell perpetually flurries; her fainting-fit a tour-de-farce.

As an unpleasant coachman, Jerry Lyne’s return to his first menacing role (later Sergeant Buzzfuzz again) distils a quintessence of snarling surliness. En route they stay at an inn, where the Wellers work, and Samuel is taken on. Not before a scream from Elanor Moy’s Miss Witherfield joins the fainting fit of Mrs Bardell (whom Pickwick gallantly catches up) both key moments that drive disasters (there’s sadly little of Moy: as she’s also shadow lighting operator).

It’s here Slater-Hyndman’s speech – all twirl and jar – makes an art of Alfred Jingle; who arrives with his qualifiier “very” at sentence-ends: a signature. Slater-Hyndman’s swagger and nonchalance is counterpointed by his philosophical fall from grace, his fever-broken, starveling avatar in the Fleet where Pickwick ends up too. He starts by getting Pickwick involved as duellist with Dr Slammer (realised with trigger bumptiousness by Ben Pritchard, also harrumphing Magistrate Nupkins) by wearing his coat. Pritchard’s Nupkins is allowed a streak of decent corruption, and enjoys changing his notes to gratitude.

Why does Bardell faint? Pickwick awkwardly expresses he’s engaging Weller as manservant but in a way that two-for-one sounds vaguely like a marriage proposal to someone who’d construe it too keenly.

The counterplot swivels on wit, Griffiths’ mildly truculent Tony Weller, inveighing against marrying widows, and crackpot schemes including one for rescuing Pickwick in a hollow piano. Griffiths relishes the cheery off-kilter truculence of this, set against Purchese’s quick-witted (if occasionally wrong) Sam, investing him with a faithfulness almost beyond credibility. Purchese with a quicksilver face, is as fine as Smyth in the central role. Smyth’s bemused dignity and streak of iron don’t preclude a flash of intemperate anger.

Lock wibbles his upper-class-twitness though without parody, dropping Pickwick in it through sheer incompetence. Padley’s Snodgrass has less scope and Urwin’s Tupman is confined to an elegant fade. Now Justice Starleigh is allotted his own actor, JJ Thurlow-Criss, who rips into caricature. Jason Lever’s decent Mr Perker, who helps Sam spring Pickwick is given quick-witted warmth.

Playing Nupkins last time, now Jeremy Crow’s oleaginous lawyer Fogg is a delight, counterpointed by dangerous Dodson, played by Gerry Wicks with a vocal sneer – just what’s required. But their mincing lawyers’ duet “everyone’s invited” is perhaps the star song under Giles’ evil turquoise light. Wicks plays the duelling second Dr Payne as a vexatious intriguer too. Their factotum Martyn Coates’ inveigling Jackson makes a neat impression. Richard Fisher is brutish Sergeant Snubbins. Mark Davies’ even more brutish Dubbley looks a little like a rock star.  Special mention to Rob Shepherd as Fleet officer Roker with his own song about “an art-ist” memorising prisoners’ faces like a photographer.

A swirl of virtuosity propels a now-fledged musical. This world premiere 2.0 is a tribute to everyone at NVT. In a uniformly strong cast, Smyth, Purchese, Scobie, Slater-Hyndman and Griffiths have most to do and are distinctive – with a different temper to 2019. But all lesser roles are remade too. Fringe awards?

Singing Coach Ciru James

Production Manager Ulricke Schilling Stage Manager Moon Berglind ASMS Anne-Marie Harrison, Natalie Sacks-Hammond, Gaby Bowring

Support & Prompt Barry Purchese, Janice Jones

Set Build & Painting Simon Glazier, George Walter, Dan Tranter, Chris Tew, Tim McQuillan-Wright

Props Bryony Weaver, Armourer Ian Black

Lighting Design Sabrina Giles, Lighting Ops Alex Epps, Sabrina Giles Chris Dent. Lighting Operation Show Eleanor Moy

Sound Ops Leah Mooney, Ian Black

Costume Design Karen Hindermarsh, Costume Assistants Marion Dean, Asmita Chandorkar, Lulu Belle Harrington, Angela Reingold. Costumes Gladrags.

Hair & Make-Up Richard Blennerhassett, Hair & Make-Up Assistants Marion Dean, Asmita Chandorkar

Poster Tamsin & Strat Mastoris, Programme Ian Amos, Photography Strat Mastoris, Marketing,  Publicity & Social Media Elysa Hyde, Health and Safety Ian Black. Filming Documentary Arun S Varghese.

Thanks to Ulricke Schilling, Erica Fletcher (Director’s Assistant 2019) Tamsin & Strat Mastoris and Box Office/F

Published December 20, 2025December 20, 2025 by Simon Jenner