One Man Play | Mr. Dickens Is Coming! | September 21 at 7 pm

About this experience

The great-great-grandson of the literary legend Charles Dickens, British actor Gerald Charles Dickens returns to Ventfort Hall this time to present his one-man theatrical performance of his ancestor’s classic works in Mr. Dickens Is Coming! After having visited Ventfort Hall for many holiday seasons, this year, Dickens will be gracing us with his performance of Mr. Dickens Is Coming!

This is a one-man show written and performed by Gerald Charles Dickens, the great-great grandson of Charles Dickens. The show features Gerald Dickens embodying his ancestor and bringing to life characters and excerpts from Charles Dickens' works, as well as offering a 21st-century perspective. Inspired by Charles Dickens' own readings of his works, particularly A Christmas Carol, this performance includes excerpts from novels, characters, letters, and diary entries, all delivered with a unique flair by this gifted story teller.  The show often aims to recreate the atmosphere of Charles Dickens's original performances, transporting audiences back in time to experience his stories in a period setting. 

Gerald Dickens has been performing one-man stage shows based on the life and works of his ancestor for over twenty years, undertaking major tours of both the UK and America each year. In 1993 he created his first one-man show, a theatrical performance of A Christmas Carol inspired by Charles’ own energetic readings of the 1860s. A fascination with the life and works of his great-great grandfather led him to write and direct further one-man shows including Mr. Dickens is Coming!, Nicholas Nickleby and Sketches by Boz.  He regularly performs in major theatres and arts centers as well as at hotels and stately homes.  He has appeared at several arts and literary festivals in the UK and has been entertaining cruise ship passengers worldwide since 2007.

In 2012, as part of the Charles Dickens bicentennial celebrations, Gerald met the Queen of England during a special reception at Buckingham Palace. Gerald enjoys introducing the works of Charles Dickens to children and young adults, and has taken workshops and performances into schools, colleges and universities both in the UK and the USA.

Tickets for the evening performance at 7 pm are $50. Reservations are required and can be made on our website at https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or by calling (413) 637-3206. Please note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. Payment is required to make a reservation for an event.