THE People’s Theatre continues its eventful centenary year with one of its most ambitious undertakings, as David Whetstone reports.

PEOPLE who have been watching the Royal Shakespeare Company in Newcastle for many years are likely to have fond memories of Nicholas Nickleby.

David Edgar’s two-play adaptation of Charles Dickens’ famous tale was staged – as The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – to great acclaim 30 years ago.

First staged in London in 1980, it was revived in Stratford in 1986 and came to the Theatre Royal on tour.

A production by the Chichester Festival Theatre came to the Theatre Royal in 2007, but it isn’t often done. It requires a big cast which puts it beyond most companies in these cash-strapped times.

But that’s where the amateurs of the People’s Theatre come in, treading where the professionals can’t.

The People’s make no bones about it, calling this one of the most ambitious productions in its 100-year history.

Tony Childs, who is directing the People’s production with Anna Dobson, recalls that the RSC rehearsed their original version in Newcastle before taking it to London, where it was premiered at the Aldwych Theatre.

He recalls being told by RSC insiders that it was a huge gamble, with few tickets being sold in advance and its success resting largely on word of mouth. This became particularly crucial when the early reviews were mixed.

“It’s the sort of play that you can’t easily do if you’re a professional theatre company,” says Tony.

“We’ve got a cast of 23 playing about 90 parts but it’s not just that. Even a professional company has to have a certain size of theatre in order to do it and we’re lucky we have that.

“We are also lucky that we can assemble a big cast. We’ve got people in this aged from 17 to 70. We started rehearsing at the beginning of June and have been meeting four times a week.”

Today comes the moment of truth with the first performances at the Newcastle theatre.

People’s shows usually run from Tuesday to Saturday, but because of the importance of this production – and the fact it involves two plays – it was decided to extend the run from Saturday to Saturday.

Today and next Saturday (October 22) you can see Play One at 2.30pm and Play Two at 7.30pm. Play One will then be performed again on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Play Two on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

Together the plays tell the story of Nicholas and his efforts to support his sister and widowed mother while burdened by scheming Uncle Ralph.

The plays introduce a host of colourful Dickensian characters including brutal teacher Wackford Squeers and his disabled pupil, Smike, who dotes on Nicholas.

Say the co-directors: “It’s hard to define what sort of play this is.

“It’s gloriously funny and extremely moving. Sometimes it feels like King Lear and sometimes like pantomime. It’s been a really exciting project for us and for our hugely talented cast.”

Buy tickets from the box office: tel. 0191 265 5020 (option 2).