Tuesday, June 9, 2020

149. EMLYN WILLIAMS AS CHARLES DICKENS. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

Emlyn Williams.

For background on this series and a list of previous entries, click here.

EMYLN WILLIAMS AS CHARLES DICKENS [Dramatic Revival] AD: Emlyn Williams; P: Sol Hurok; T: Alice Tully Hall (OB); 11/3/70-11/7/70 (5)

 
British actor-writer Emlyn Williams returned to New York with his one-man performance in which he made himself up to look like Charles Dickens during that famous author’s popular public reading tours in the mid-19th century.

Selections from Dickens’s writings were presented as if the author were himself presenting them. Williams had been doing this show, with occasional variations, since 1951. As usual, he received glowing commendations from the press. In recent years, another British actor-writer, Simon Callow, has made such performances a significant part of his own career.