Dickensblog

Sam Mendes's 'David Copperfield': A review

By Cody M. Quanbeck, guest blogger

I wasn’t initially sure I would listen to the new audio dramatization of David Copperfield from director Sam Mendes and adapter Marty Ross, since I wasn’t a fan of their adaptation of Oliver Twist. What ultimately convinced me to give it a try was the casting of Helena Bonham Carter as Betsey Trotwood. In my experience, Bonham Carter can be a very charismatic performer, but I had a hard time picturing her as the character. That’s the beauty of audio dramas, however. To my mind, Helena Bonham Carter may not look physically intimidating enough to be Betsey Trotwood, but that doesn’t occur to me while I’m listening to her stellar vocal performance. (Sadly, though not surprisingly, this adaptation doesn’t give the character the emotional arc she had in the book, but that’s not the actress’s fault.)

The cast’s other standout is Richard Armitage, who sounds awesomely creepy as Mr. Murdstone. Ncuti Gatwa is also great as the title character. (When that character is an adult, that is. Reece Kenwyne Mpudzi voices him as a child.)

But not everyone is so well cast. Rhiannon Clements sounds too mature to be Dora Spenlow, making the character’s occasional brattishness and general immaturity less tolerable than they should be. To be fair, though, the problem there may lie more with the writing than the acting.

Ah, the writing.

Sam Mendes's next Audible drama: 'David Copperfield'

(And can we all just thank him for doing something besides Great Expectations?)*

The acclaimed director's next Dickens dramatization for Audible** comes out November 30. It will star Ncuti Gatwa of "Doctor Who" as David, along with Helena Bonham Carter (presumably as Aunt Betsey), Theo James, Jessie Buckley, Richard Armitage (already an award-nominated David Copperfield narrator), Jack Lowden, Toby Jones, Indira Varma, Ralph Ineson, and Reece Kenwyne Mpudzi. Deadline Hollywood has more.

*I imagine he'll get to GE eventually, but honestly, I think we just needed a little break.

**After Oliver Twist, which I still need to listen to (so many audiobooks, so little time). I'll share some thoughts here when I do.

'Oliver Twist' audio drama released

Sam Mendes's new audio drama Oliver Twist is now available on Audible, and if you have a membership, it's free! The cast includes Brian Cox as Fagin, Daniel Kaluuya as Bill Sikes, Nicola Coughlan as Nancy, Emilio Villa Muhammad as Oliver, and Elijah Wolf as the Artful Dodger. Go here to read more about the production, which includes sound effects recorded at Dickens's own home, now the Dickens Museum. And go here to listen!

New 'Chimes' audio drama

The Chimes -- Dickens's "lost" Christmas story, according to the publicity -- is getting a full-cast audio adaptation, starring Toby Jones. It can be pre-ordered here; there's no word yet on whether it will be available at Audible or other outlets. Here's the teaser trailer: