Showtime!

Charles Dickens is a master storyteller, and although best remembered as a novelist, it is through stage, television, film and radio that his stories have cemented their place at the heart of popular culture for over 185 years. 

Showtime! explores the enduring appeal of Dickens’s work and its continual adaption for stage and screen and celebrates that for many people, their first experience of Dickens’s stories is through adaptations such as The Muppets Christmas Carol or Oliver! the musical.

We’ll be exploring and celebrating these and other influential productions from 1837 to modern day as well as showcasing the Museum’s unique theatre and performance collection.

Come and see original playbills, posters, programmes, photographs and props from a myriad of Dickensian adaptations. Hear from actors and writers about what makes Dickens so adaptable and get up close to Dickens’s own books, annotated with his stage directions for performing his own work.

 Discover how Dickens’s early love of theatre and acting, impacted his life and works and created the stories we know and love today.

This new exhibition has been generously funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Dickens Fellowship and The Circles of Art. A special thanks to National Lottery players.