Description
The Chimes – a play adaptation of the story by Charles Dickens
Cast of 20 (easily adaptable up or down) Duration around 25 minutes.
The Chimes is also available as a longer version of 45 – 50 minutes long as written for both performance on stage, and as a Readers Theater/Guided Reading Script; and adapted for radio.
Other Charles Dickens script adaptations include Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities.
The ‘goal’ of these plays is to provide a simplified version of Dickens’ stories whilst staying true to their original content. They are suitable for upper KSII and KSIII
Sample Text
Dickens: So. There you have it. Justice of the most paternalistic kind!
Narrator: It’s an outrage! How can a man, seeking refuge in a barn for a night, be held to be a criminal?
Dickens: Oh, quite easily! That’s Victorian justice for you!
Narrator: But he hasn’t done anything! What is his crime?
Dickens: Crime? Oh, you don’t need to have committed a crime to be a criminal! This Mr Fern made the mistake of not being a Trotty.
Narrator: What do you mean?
Dickens: Can you imagine our Trotty ever speaking up for himself?
Narrator: Well, no. (Pauses) And so this Fern did?
Dickens: Let’s just say he ruffled some feathers. He dared to suggest Lady Bowley’s idea of entertaining the lower classes, at one of her ‘charity events’, was not the total answer to providing ‘those lower classes’ with a future.
Narrator: Aha! Not a good move! Certainly not one to win her ladyship’s favour!
Dickens: Exactly! So what better way for her ladyship to gain her rightful upper hand again than to make an example of one who dared to offend her?
Narrator: To declare him a vagabond? Oh, sweet justice! Let’s see what other injustices our poor person’s father can bestow!
Also Available:
These are also available in Readers Theater format.
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