Monday 7 October 2013

Damian Humbley, Jon Robyns, Kit Orton, Gerard Carey and Matthew Hendrickson to star in Dickens Abridged at the Arts Theatre

Casting has been announced for Dickens Abridged, a fast-paced musical comedy from the co-creator of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged). The production will open on Monday 2nd December 2013 (previews from 27th November), running until Sunday 5th January 2014. The production will star West End regulars Damian Humbley, Jon Robyns, Kit Orton, Gerard Careyand and Matthew Hendrickson.

Damian Humbley (Charles Dickens) was most recently seen as Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Harold Pinter Theatre. Other recent credits include Harry in Company at Sheffield Crucible, Lend Me A Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre, Shoes at the Peacock Theatre, Seymour in the UK Tour of Little Shop of Horrors and Jamie in the UK Premiere of The Last Five Years at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Jon Robyns (Fagin, Scrooge and many other characters) is currently playing Sir Galahad in Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre. Other recent credits include Hollis Bessemer in Road Show at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Enjolras in the 25thAnniversary Production of Les Misérables, Marius in Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre and Princeton/Rod in the Original Cast of Avenue Q at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Kit Orton (Miss Havisham, David Copperfield and many others) is currently appearing alongside Jon as Sir Lancelot in Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre. Other recent credits include The Hired Man at Leicester Curve and Arabian Nights, Spend Spend Spend and Martin Guerre, all at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury.

Gerard Carey (Tiny Tim, Oliver Twist and others) has appeared in Soho Cinders at Soho Theatre, Master Class at the Vaudeville Theatre, Ex at Soho Theatre, Invisible Man at the Menier Chocolate Factory, as Prince Herbert in Spamalot at the Palace Theatre and as Robertson Ay in the Original Cast of Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre. At the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park Gerard has appeared in The Taming Of The Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Two Gentlemen Of Verona and High Society.

Matthew Hendrickson (Mr. Micawber, The Ghost of Christmas Present and others) has appeared in the West End productions of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and The Complete History of America (Abridged) at the Criterion Theatre. Other recent credits include Feathers in the Snow at Southwark Playhouse and The Full Monty at the English Theatre, Frankfurt.

Described as a high-speed comic sprint through Dickens' Greatest Hits, Dickens Abridged sees our absurdly talented cast of five Charles Dickens devotees bring hundreds of the great author’s best-loved characters to life in 90-minutes of madcap Dickensian mayhem. From Great Expectations complete with flaming bride, to A Christmas Carol in which Tiny Tim rocks the house with a soaring electric guitar solo, Dickens Abridged will take you on a hilarious ride through the thrills and spills of some of Charlie’s greatest works including David Copperfield, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby.

Dickens Abridged also reveals some fascinating and bizarre-but-true stories from Charles Dickens' own life, including his complicated romantic entanglements, and his inexplicable enthusiasm for performing the bludgeoning scene from Oliver Twist, over and over and over again.

Dickens Abridged is written and directed by Adam Long, who was a founding member of the Reduced Shakespeare Company. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), which Adam directed and co-wrote, ran in the West End for nine years and was nominated for an Olivier Award as well as running twice Off-Broadway and in successful tours all over the world. Other stage work includes The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) and The Complete History of America (abridged) for the Reduced Shakespeare Company and Deconstructing Albert at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre. Work for TV includes History on Toast and Last Minute Book Reports for the Disney Channel, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) for PBS, Trigger Happy TV for Channel Four and Star Wars Shortened for LucasFilm/BSkyB.

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