West End version of Radio 4's Dickensian comedy curtails its run

West End comedy Bleak Expectations will end its West End run three weeks earlier than originally scheduled.

The Dickens parody, which began its life as a Radio 4 comedy, will now end its run at the Criterion Theatre on August 13 instead of the previously scheduled September 4.

It features a different guest star narrator each week  with the runs featuring Ben Miller and Nish Kumar now dropped. Lee Mack takes the job next week, followed by Stephen Mangan, Jo Brand and Tom Allen, who starred in the BBC original.

Written by Mark Evans, Bleak Expectations follows young Pip’s extraordinary exploits with sisters Pippa and Poppy plus best friend Harry Biscuit as they attempt to escape the calculating clutches of the dastardly Mr Gently Benevolent, defeat the hideous Hardthrasher siblings, and deflect disaster at every turn.

The show got broadly positive, but not rave, reviews with three stars in The Guardian and Time Out, The Arts Desk and What’s On Stage. But four on Chortle and two from the Evening Standard.

» Chortle’s Bleak Expectation review

Published: 22 Jun 2023