Six-week run of solo version of the Dickens classic

Eddie Izzard to return to the New York stage with a solo version of  Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.

The comic – who is also bidding to be Labour MP for Sheffield – will play all 21 characters in the classic tale of convicts, mystery, friendship, rivalry, unrequited love, revenge and redemption.

The show will run for six weeks at The Greenwich House Theater, starting on December 9.

Izzard, who is dyslexic, had never read a great work of literature until picking this story, knowing that she was exactly 150 years younger than Dickens Both were born on February 7: Dickens in 1812 , Izzard in 1962.

She said: ‘Charles Dickens loved performing his own works in America, and so I thought it would be a wonderful idea to launch Great Expectations here. I always feel at home in New York, and I believe if Charles Dickens were alive today, he would feel at home too.’

Director Selina Cadell added: ‘I find the combination of Eddie Izzard’s idiosyncratic wit and Charles Dickens’ ingenious storytelling irresistible and am looking forward to sharing it with New York audiences.’ 

Published: 26 Oct 2022