NY Post
Let me put it simply and plainly. The Royal Shakespeare Company in THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY is one of the great theatrical experiences of our time.
NY Daily News
...it is big, sweeping theatre of a kind you are unlikely to encounter more than once in a lifetime.
Time
The play delves into Dickensian bathos, preposterous coincidences, abrupt reversals of fortune, the collision of improbable goodness with impossible evil—and emerges triumphant, soaring with spirit. In the process it displays the grandest theatrical techniques, affirms the rightness of love and friendship, revives pleasures and poignancies that have all but vanished from modern narrative art.
Variety
The indestructible Dickens story includes high drama and low comedy, vividly drawn characters in the author's bravura style, melodramatic situations and contrasting subtle scenes...the playgoing experience of a lifetime.
From the Publisher
"As is typical of Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby contains a myriad of characters, and as is typical of Simon Vance, he skillfully handles each one. . . . Like the novel itself, Vance delivers a performance that is both poignant and humorous." ---AudioFile
JULY 2012 - AudioFile
As is typical of Charles Dickens, NICHOLAS NICKLEBY contains a myriad of characters, and as is typical of Simon Vance, he skillfully handles each one. In an epic listen, Vance's smooth, pleasant voice regales listeners with the title character's search for his place in the world after the death of his father. Capturing the essence of characters ranging from noblemen to country folk, the seasoned narrator appropriately injects his voice with smugness, innocence, and everything in between. The pacing is perfect—Vance rapidly delivers Mrs. Nickleby's comedic ramblings and slows his speech to a crawl when portraying the simple Smike. His female voices are particularly noteworthy, sounding soft and natural. Like the novel itself, Vance delivers a performance that is both poignant and humorous. M.D. 2012 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
