Simon Callow

THE life and works of Charles Dickens will be celebrated by Simon Callow in Welwyn Garden City next month.

The acclaimed stage and television actor will be appearing at the Hawthorne Theatre, at Campus West, on Friday, February 10.

Though most famous for his great novels, Dickens was one of the first ‘celebrity’ authors, attracting thousands of fans to his readings both in Britain and across the Atlantic.

Not only did he give voice to his vast cast of characters, he was also a dazzling mimic and raconteur, and he wrote, stage-managed and acted in plays for the public.

From his early years as a child entertainer in Portsmouth pubs to his reluctant retirement from ‘these garish lights’, he remained fanatical about the stage.

Just months before his death he pointed at a theatre and declared: “That’s what I should have done with my life!”

Actor and writer Callow has lived a life intertwined with Dickens, having played him in a hugely successful one-man show, The Mystery of Charles Dickens.

He has also played Dickens on television several times, including BBC’s An Audience with Charles Dickens in 1996 and The Unquiet Dead, a 2005 episode of the BBC series Doctor Who.

Now he has written Charles Dickens & The Great Theatre of the World, an entertaining biography which reveals an original genius, and offers a compelling insight into a life driven by performance.

Callow will discuss and read excerpts from the book at the Hawthorne Theatre next month to enthuse audiences about the man he calls ‘the greatest storyteller that ever lived… a comic genius’.

It promises to be an entertaining and informative evening in the company of one of the great theatrical raconteurs.

The performance starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £19.50 and are available by calling the ticket hub on 01707 357117 or online from www.hawthorne.theatre.co.uk