Dr Marigold and Mr Chops

Simon Callow has a thing for Dickens. He has written a book about him, and acted the part of the great author in the internationally successful show, The Mystery of Charles Dickens. He even managed a guest spot playing Dickens in an episode of Doctor Who. Now, the polymath writer, actor and director has turned to the novelist again, bringing alive two of his stories in a one-man show, Dr Marigold and Mr Chops, deftly directed by Richard Twyman.

Set in the Victorian world of sideshows and travelling fairs, the play introduces us to two outsiders: Mr Chops, a freak show dwarf, and Dr Marigold, a ‘cheap jack’ or travelling salesman. Mr Chops, after years of performing, wins the lottery and finally has the chance to fulfil his dream of going into high society. Yet when he does, he finds out that there is less acceptance and freedom there than in the freak show he left behind. Dr Marigold works selling bric-a-brac at country fairs. Heartbroken by the earlier loss of his beloved daughter, he comes across a deaf and dumb child, who is treated like a slave by her father. He adopts her, teaching her to read and to communicate, allowing them both to overcome their loneliness.

These stories were written for the Christmas edition of Dickens’ journal and have that bittersweet quality that characterises all good Christmas tales. Making use of the evocative and flexible set designed by Christopher Woods, Callow brings these characters vividly to life. In Mr Chops, he moves confidently between the high pitched dwarf and his gruff employer, engaging us in the glamour and grime of the freakshow.

It is in the second story, Dr Marigold, however, that the play really comes alive. Callow gives such conviction and heart to the character of Marigold, that the sentimentality of the plot is overtaken by real emotion. When Callow puts out his arms to hold his precious daughter, one feels that she stands as clearly on stage as her father does. It's as if we have witnessed a whole cast of actors, not a one-man show. At its best, this production reminds us that a single actor can hold us rapt with practically no props and no flashy effects. It seems that, even in our world of myriad distractions and side shows, the power of storytelling remains undiminished.