Some activities of the Dutch Dickens Theatre

Lecture and performance Magic Lantern Society Birmingham April 2022

The Dickenstheater Laren presented in Birmingham in April 2022 for The Magic Lantern Society UK, a company of pre-cinema scholars and performers, the results of a year-long research project into the influence of the magic lantern in the works of Charles Dickens. Adrian Kok and Else Flim were able, to the surprise of the audience, to demonstrate, among other things, Dickens' love for the magic lantern and the fact that this medium has influenced his way of looking and writing.

The Dickens Theatre then performed at the Birmingham and Midland Institute theatre, for which Charles Dickens raised money with his first readings in 1853. He was also honoured in Birmingham with an ovation and a grand banquet. In 1869 he was President of this Institute.

In her welcome speech, Else took the audience back to the year 1869. Then Charles Dickens-actor Adrian Kok appeared. He gave an impressive reading of, according to the English report, the "hilarious, but near tragic" story: The Skating Experiences from The Pickwick Papers. At the same time Else showed beautiful black and white glass slides via the special magic lantern. The results of the research presented were published in two volumes in the journal The Magic Lantern.

Photo Philippe Khazzaka

10th Anniversary

The Dickens Theater celebrated its 10th anniversary on Sunday afternoons 6 and 13 March 2022 with benefit performances in aid of the Voedselbank (=food Bank) Gooi & Omstreken. The mayor of Laren, Mr Nanning Mol, delivered an opening speech in which he gave his views on the role of a mayor in election time. The audience, in preparation for the Municipal Elections, had fun during Election Fever (The Eatanswill Election) from The Pickwick Papers.

Dickens Theatre Laren wins Award in USA (October 2016)

After several requests to perform in the USA, Dickens Theatre Laren decided to take the plunge. That the performances by Charles Dickens-actor Adrian Kok and dramatist/director Else Flim would be such a success was a big surprise to them. They gave a lecture as well as a performance for The Magic Lantern Society USA&Canada in New Orleans. This society consists of about 200 international scientists and performers. They specialise in visual and theatrical entertainment in the pre-cinema period. At the end of this international convention, the Dickens Theatre turned out to be nominated, via a vote, in the categories 'best performing' and 'best research'. People also saw the research as the basis for the theatrical performances so the research factor scored higher. The Award for best historically and scientifically based research went to 'Dickens Theatre Laren in The Netherlands': "for the convention's best original scholarship on the magic lantern or related issues."

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