The Signalman and The Murder (Sikes and Nancy) – Gerald Dickens

The Great Great Grandson of Charles Dickens returns to The Albert Hall this August with two of his finest one-man plays.

The Signalman

Charles Dickens is well known for his ghost stories but The Signalman is the most atmospheric of them all. In a deep, damp railway cutting a lonely signalman tells his terrible tale to a complete stranger. The signal box, the tunnel, even the telegraph wires seem to haunt him at every turn and Gerald’s performance captures the brooding nature of the original.

The Murder – Sykes and Nancy

This is Victorian theatre at its most dramatic. Most of Charles’ readings were safe, well-known and often comic passages from his novels, but in 1869 he introduced Sikes and Nancy to his repertoire. When Dickens performed what he called ‘The Murder’ he judged the success of the evening by the number of ladies who fainted in horror. Today it has lost none of its power.

About Gerald

Gerald Dickens is an actor, director and producer specialising in the works of his great great grandfather, author Charles Dickens.

In 1993 he created his first one-man show, a theatrical performance of A Christmas Carol inspired by Charles Dickens’ own energetic readings of the 1860s.

A fascination with the life and works of Charles led him to write and direct further one-man shows including Mr Dickens is Coming!, Nicholas Nickleby and Great Expectations. He regularly performs in major theatres and arts centres as well as at exclusive hotels and stately homes throughout the world.

He appears at arts and literary festivals throughout the UK and enjoyed a long spell entertaining passengers on cruise ships.

He has published two books, ‘Dickens and Staplehurst: A Biography of a Rail Crash’ and ‘Gerald Dickens: My Life on the Road With A Christmas Carol’