What did you think about Great Expectations before you started directing the play?

I love it, in my mind it’s Dickens’s best novel. With a number of plot twists equal to even the most dramatic week of EastEnders, it’s a novel which I feel people can relate to today and has an equal number of funny and poignant moments. I think it thoroughly deserves its reputation as one of the British people’s favourite novels and contains a story that many of us can still relate to today. The incredibly diverse range of characters helps to create a story that appeals to people from all walks of life and I love the debate which issues such as the depiction of Miss Havisham have provoked among the readership.

Has your view on any of the characters or themes changed over the course of the rehearsals?

Yes dramatically (pardon the pun) - partially as a result of the way the actors have adopted their characters. In many ways I think they have shaped the way I view the play and I feel like the way they see their character is as valuable as the way that I had envisaged originally. The accents in the play have been a struggle for some of the cast which has caused some amusing changes. We have a few people playing multiple roles which is also interesting and the different ways they have approached each part has led to some fantastic performances; the versatility of the actors is one thing in particular which has really impressed me. Thematically, the play has stayed pretty true to my original image. The idea that the story is all being told through Pip’s memories means that the audience should have a really intimate experience.

To what extent do you think that Great Expectations still speaks to modern audiences? Do you think that it is a text of its time?

I think many of the underlying questions posed by the play still are relevant to modern society. Particularly the idea of class, which is still highly pervasive in our society, though not as overtly as in Dickens’s time. Obviously other issues addressed in the book such as unrequited love are timeless, and I think that Pip’s character in particular is easy to relate to. The fact that most of the characters are complex and multi-faceted makes them far more engaging to a modern audience and helps to prevent the book from falling into the trap of many classics in the period whose plots aren’t complex enough to appeal to a modern audience occupied with increasingly sensationalist media.

What is your favourite moment of the play?

My favourite moment... that’s a hard one. I love every scene with Herbert Pocket, the actor (Natalie Reeve) whom we’ve chosen to play the part has nailed the flamboyance and fun of the character perfectly. I’m also a sucker for a tragic love story, and find the many meetings of Estella and Pip (brilliantly portrayed by Clara Strandhoj and George Booth-Clibborn respectively) really compelling. Possibly my favourite moment is the very end – not going to spoil anything, but it will certainly leave the audience desperate to know what happens next.

This is the first play that you’ve directed - what will you take
away from the process?

Not to do both coxing and directing! In all seriousness, make sure you have an amazing production team behind you, I would have given up long ago if it weren’t for the dedication and organisational talents of my producer and assistant director! I think I’ll also take away an enduring love for Cambridge theatre and a respect for the people that put effort in for months behind the scenes to help bring shows together, it’s an incredible process and seeing everything come together in this final week of rehearsals is perhaps the most gratifying experience I’ve had at university so far.

Great Expectations will be performed Tuesday 16th - Saturday 20th 2016 at 7pm at Pembroke New Cellars.