Dickensblog

Still more 'King of Kings' casting news

The cast list for the animated film based on The Life of Our Lord continues to grow: Pierce Brosnan, Mark Hamill, and Ben Kingsley will all be voicing villains (Pontius Pilate, King Herod, and High Priest Caiaphas, respectively).

More casting for 'King of Kings'

Oscar Isaac will play Jesus and Forest Whitaker will play Peter in the animated film inspired by Dickens's The Life of Our Lord. Collider has the details.

'The King of Kings' cast reveal

In the upcoming animated film inspired by Dickens's The Life of Our Lord, Kenneth Branagh will provide the voice of Charles Dickens, and Uma Thurman will voice his wife, Catherine. Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit) will voice their son Walter. The Hollywood Reporter has more details.

Forthcoming film inspired by 'The Life of Our Lord'

Dickens's book on the life of Christ has inspired a South Korean animated feature film titled The King of Kings, in which Dickens and his son Walter "become immersed in the story of Jesus, involving notable friends and foes." The film, currently seeking distribution, is directed by Seong-ho "Jay" Jang and reportedly features "a high-profile voice cast," though no names have been released yet. The Hollywood Reporter has more, including two images from the film.

Dickens, Easter, and 'The Life of Our Lord'

I went back on Art Kilmer's podcast, A Cozy Christmas, to talk about Dickens and Easter! You can listen here.

'To Begin With' returns to Minneapolis

The play inspired by Dickens's The Life of Our Lord, and starring his descendant Gerald Charles Dickens, is coming back to the city where it premiered two years ago. To Begin With will run at the Historic Wesley Center from March 28 through April 15. For more information, go here; to buy tickets, go here. 

Speaking of Gerald Dickens, you can read his thoughts on performing in this and other works by and about his famous ancestor at his blog!

'The Life of Our Lord' up for auction

The Friends of A.K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands, California, are auctioning off a first American edition of The Life of Our Lord. Go here for details on the silent auction, which ends Tuesday. 

Meeting Mr. Dickens

Novelist and blogger Julie Klassen writes about her experience seeing To Begin With and meeting Gerald Dickens. Thanks to Rachel McMillan for sending the link!

Praise for 'To Begin With'

The Minneapolis StarTribune gave the new play a glowing review. Click here to read it!

'To Begin With': A Reflection and a Review

By Dr. Gary Colledge, guest blogger

[Ed. note: As many of our regular readers know, Dr. Gary Colledge is the author of God and Charles Dickens and consultant on the new play To Begin With. He has also been a good friend to this blog. We greatly appreciate his writing this guest post for us on the development and premiere of the play. --GRD]

Three years ago, my wife and I sat with producer Dennis Babcock in my home discussing the idea of turning Dickens’s The Life Of Our Lord into a one-man play. Dennis shared with us that he had been toying with the possibility of this project for almost 20 years, and through a series of rather extraordinary—maybe even providential?—events, learned that The Life of Our Lord had been at the center of my post-graduate studies. He contacted me for the first time initially by phone, visited me at my home shortly thereafter, and at that meeting asked if I might consider serving as a consultant for the production. 

That is why, this past Friday evening, February 20, 2015, I sat with much delight and anticipation in the Music Box Theatre in Minneapolis waiting for the curtain to rise on the premiere of To Begin With, Dennis’s theatrical production about the writing of Dickens’s The Life of Our Lord.