A History of the RSC in 50 Objects (Online)

POSTER

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, 1980

Director:  John Caird and Trevor Nunn

This adaptation for the stage of Charles Dickens' famous novel ran for eight and a half hours. On weeknights audiences had to watch the show over two days. The performance included dialogue, song and mime.

David Edgar (b.1948) adapted the original novel for the stage. He had wanted to stay as close to the novel as possible. This resulted in a script of 500 pages with 45 actors playing 150 characters. To recreate a Victorian atmosphere the actors ran through the stalls and came amongst the audience selling crumpets. The production was extremely popular. It was revived in 1986 and filmed for television in 1987.