Hard Times

(Paperback)

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Description

Imagine a world where imagination is forbidden. Coketown is such a place. Thomas Gradgrind will not permit fanciful thoughts in his school or his home. But what effect will this policy have on his own children, Tom and Louisa How can he protect them from corrupting influences especially when the circus comes to town
Dark satanic mills, interrupted by the colour and vibrancy of Slearys Circus, set the stage for a sweeping tale of suppressed love, seduction and social mores, peopled with the sharply observed exaggerated characters that Dickens is celebrated for.

Reviews

It is deeply affecting . . . This is popular ensemble theatre in traditions stretching from Moliere to Meyerhold and beyond: vibrant, entertaining and meaningful. * The Observer (on An August Bank Holiday Lark) *
Warm-hearted, poignant drama . . . pays tribute to the long-dead in more than words. * Daily Telegraph on An August Bank Holiday Lark *
Nikolai Gogol's biting satire on the corruption in Tsarist Russian public life makes an effortless translation to a small modern day Pennine hill town this campy, brassy update is very funny and very relevant a touch of Yorkshire Noir. * Independent on Deborah McAndrew's adapatation of "A Government Inspector" *
McAndrew's adaptation does wonders to wrestle Dickens' disparate plot strands into a coherent whole, in the first half at least. * Daily Mail *

Author Bio

Deborah McAndrew is a British writer and actor, whose adaptation of The Bells by Leopold Lewis (Northern Broadsides Theatre Company) opened at the Viaduct, Halifax in 2004. Her first original play Vacuum premiered with the same theatre company. Her version of Nikolai Gogol's A Government Inspector, with the action transplanted to a corrupt Yorkshire hamlet, is published by Methuen Drama.