2-979-035 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Private Theatricals at Tavistock House - scene from "The Frozen Deep", 1857. 'Twelfth-night was signalised at Mr. Dickens' residence by one of those dramatic performances which have so frequently done honour to the talent and taste of our great novelist. An entirely new romantic drama was provided for the occasion. It is in three acts, and the production of Mr. Wilkie Collins, whose genius for this class of piece it charmingly illustrates. Under the title of "The Frozen Deep," the rigours of the Arctic regions are scenically portrayed...Richard Wardour, performed by Mr. Charles Dickens...in rags, wild as a maniac, rushes into the cave....Dickens had in such a character as this a part that required the consummate acting of a well-practised performer. Too much praise cannot be bestowed on the artistic interpretation that it received from him'. From "Illustrated London News", 1857.