REVIEW: Vinegar & Brown Paper by Richard Fitchett at Old Red Lion Theatre 5 - 9 December 2023

‘dialogue that sparkles … coming to life once the writer takes an interest in the star-struck young girl’ ★★★★

As the festive season approaches, it is refreshing to hear a new Dickens story than the ubiquitous one seemingly on an infinite loop. This one, about Dickens (Keith Hill) himself, is based on a lesser-known text, A Child's Journey with Dickens (1912), by Kate Douglas Wiggan. Young Kate (Beth Taylor), then 11 years old, wasn’t allowed into Dickens’ talk during his second American tour (from 1867-68), as she was considered by her family too young to be worth the ticket price; but she, probably unlike any adult, had read every Dickens novel and some six times.

The young girl entered the writer’s train carriage with wide-eyed earnestness and certainty and managed to get past his gruff (dare I say, humbug?) exterior. He was working on his latest novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which he never managed to complete, on this journey or later. The juxtaposition of the eminent writer opposite a curious young girl really works. Fitchett’s historical fiction experiment is based on a real meeting, and creates dialogue that sparkles at moments, particularly coming to life once the writer takes an interest in the star-struck young girl.

Not only was Kate an avid fan, but she was a keen observer, sharing her notes on people in her beloved town of Hollis, Maine to her thoughts on cabbage. It surprised me to learn that this was Taylor’s professional theatrical debut, as she seemed so comfortable in taking on the role of a precocious child in the presence of greatness. Speaking of great expectations, the role of the famed novelist was performed by an immensely watchable Keith Hill. At one point, Dickens conducts a reading from the end of A Christmas Carol about the three spirits for Kate and it gave a taste of what it might have been like to attend one of the raconteur’s readings. Hill embodies the role so wonderfully that the viewer feels the sense of observing a resurrection.

The simple design to the set is one that doesn’t intrude on the heart of the piece: the conversation. Two chairs facing each other take centre stage, while a small writing desk and chair are in the corner for the older Kate to inhabit for much of the play. Perhaps this is the part that is most curious: the narrator role of the older Kate makes some sense to give contextual background, but not to drive the real story, which is the dialogue between the two passengers on the train. The older Kate seems to have lost the vivacity that captured Dickens’ interest in the train.

I was compelled to learn more about Kate's future accomplishments, especially hearing Dickens’ inspiring words upon their parting that she was fearsome and that stories would find her. And indeed, she took his words to heart, not only as a writer, but as an educator who impacted many young children by creating the first free Kindergarten in San Francisco. As narrator Kate tells us, Dickens died just a few years later and Kate ended up moving to London only to catch tuberculosis and finish her days there. There is a sad irony to this story, perhaps in keeping with many of Dickens' own novels, but I am very glad it has finally been told.

Vinegar & Brown Paper by Richard Fitchett at Old Red Lion Theatre 5 - 9 December 2023

Written by Richard Fitchett

Performed by Keith Hill, Beth Taylor, Louise Morell

Directed by Kevin Russell

Set Designer: Phil Newman

Sound Designer: PJ Nielsen

Lighting and Sound Technician: Edmund Sutton

Co-Producers: Louise Balint-Kurti, Richard Fitchett

Reviewed by Mariam Mathew