Hard Times : The Trailer

Character Diary: Bitzer

“I am sure you know that he whole social system is a question of self-interest. What you must appeal to is a person’s self-interest. It’s your only hold.”




Wednesday September 13th, 1834

I think school is great. Mr. Gradgrind thinks I am great because I remember everything he teaches us. Today I put the stupid new girl into her place by remembering words like ruminant and quadruped. If I want to better myself I must learn: that’s what Mr. Gradgrind says and he is always right.

Friday December 17th 1836

I learnt the words for three new Christmas Carols today. My favourite was ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’.

Hartley told me that Mr. Gradgrind’s son (I can’t write his name) is a cheat. I can’t upset Mr. Gradgrind but I must know the truth. Facts are what is important in life.

Tuesday June 20th 1838

Sissy Jupe’s father is never coming back. She hates me.

Introducing the Company: Adrian Metcalfe, Cast

Adrian's first professional role in 1993 was as Sinbad Sailors in Under Milk Wood directed by Sir Anthony Hopkins. Since then, Adrian has toured all over Britain, worked extensively in Europe, and appeared on S4C, the BBC and Channel 4. He has worked for the Olivier-award winning North Country Theatre in The Confessions of Brother Wormwood, The Rules of the Game and The Imitation Game. For Bill Kenwright, he has appeared in Wait Until Dark, Murder on Air, and Lark Rise To Candleford. Other recent theatre credits include Bottom in Midsummer Night's Dream, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Macduff in Macbeth and Fluellen in Henry V - all directed by Joe Harmston; Capulet in Romeo and Juliet for the RSC and Theatre by the Lake; Nick in Bedroom Farce, Polignac in Dry Rot and Pumblechook in Great Expectations at Theatre by the Lake; and Dylan Thomas in Reminiscences of Childhood for Arts Council Wales.On television, he has been seen as James Bonney in S4C's Môr-Ladron and a variety of roles in the BBC's The Bobinogs. He has recently been seen on BB Wales' Weatherman Walking and will soon be seen on our screens as Dylan Thomas in Telesgop's production, Rock and Roll Poet, Organ Donations Wales' national bi-lingual advertising campaign, Soldier in Vikings: The Legacy. Adrian is also the co-director of Lighthouse Theatre, and has written and produced a variety of shows including Warmley, Throw Away Your Bedsocks and Goat Street Runners, a new play about the Blitz' on Swansea. The company have toured South America twice with Noel Coward's Still Life and She Stoops to Conquer. Last year, they toured Wales with a highly successful research and development project on Malcolm Pryce's best-selling comic novel, Aberystwyth Mon Amour. This is the eighth show in which he will appear with Sonia Beck for Lighthouse and their fourteenth together in total.

Introducing the Company: Sonia Beck, Cast

Sonia trained at the Arts Educational Schools, London. Her recent work includes Mrs Llantristant/Valentine (Aberystwyth Mon Amour) King Of The Sky (Pontardawe Arts Centre) Hell's Bells by Lynne Truss (Pleasance Theatre) Stevie in Barkin' by Frank Vickery (Grassroots); Edith Piaf in Piaf (Swansea Grand); Shirley Valentine and  An Inspector Calls Back  (Cheltenham Everyman); Murder On Air (Bill Kenwright Ltd); Present Laughter (Ian Dickens Productions); Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Arundel Festival). She has toured nationally for  Compass Theatre, North Country Theatre  and Oxfordshire Touring amongst others, as well as two Shakespeare seasons for Vienna's English Theatre playing Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Phebe in As You Like It.

Film roles include: Julie in The Blast Project (Shoot Productions), Fran in Shelter (Edge Picture Co), Nurse in Dementia (WhiteboatTV), Kristina in Jawbone (EMU Films)  and WPC in The Golden Years (Moli Films) Roles for Lighthouse include Shirley Valentine; Mrs Llantrisant/Valentine (Aberystwyth Mon Amour) Laura/Myrtle in Brief Encounters; Mrs Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer; Ebeneeza Scrooge (Dickens And Dylan) and the singer in Reminiscences of Childhood.

CHARACTER INSIGHT: Sleary, Proprietor of a Circus

"People must be amused. They can’t always be a learning, nor yet they can’t be always a working, they aren’t made for it.”

From Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Introducing the Company: Vern Griffiths, Cast

A performer for over twenty years, Vern trained at The Poor School in London, and has toured all over the world. His credits include: Lt Pascoe in Trafalgar: Battle Surgeon for C4, Dewi Morgan in Stella for Sky One, three series of Those That Can't and Social Club FM on BBC Radio Wales as well as being the resident Geek on the Chris Corcoran Show (BBC Radio Wales) He is passionate about traditional pantomime and has appeared as Dame all over the country – oh, yes he has! Vern also performs as Julian D’Angelo, South Wales’ Leading Psychic Phenom.

CHARACTER INSIGHT: Mrs. Sparsit

“Nothing that a noodle does can awaken surprise or indignation: the proceedings of a noodle can only inspire contempt.”

Mrs. Sparsit had not only seen different days, but was highly connected....And here she was now, in her elderly days, with the Coriolanian style of nose and the dense black eyebrows which had captivated Sparsit, making Mr. Bounderby’s tea as he took his breakfast.

from Hard Times by Charles Dickens