If Charles Dickens were alive today, there is no doubt he would be writing for television. This was the over-riding theory on the table at the Adapting Dickens: A Television History event at the British Film Institute in London last month.
The day, part of the BFI’s Dickens on Screen season, looked at visual depictions of the writers’ novels through talks, panel discussions and film. It was a day for ‘Dickensians’, directors and die-hard fans – rewarding, inspiring and invigorating.
First up was the articulate and passionate dramatist Michael Eaton, who gave us a whistle-stop history of film and television adaptations. It came as no surprise to learn that Dickens’s novels were adapted into plays during the writer’s lifetime or that once moving images were possible his works – melodramatic and moving as they are – would become ripe subjects for the earliest experiments in film.
One of the unintended highlights of Eaton’s talk was when he read the first two paragraphs of Bleak House, to illustrate that however good the film or television actor’s work, he or she will never be able to recreate the wonder
and beauty of the words.
But it was his history of the series – the so-called ‘tea-time’ adaptations as well as the Schools’ Programme – that was so interesting. Filmed on a shoe-string, mostly inside, these programmes became the introduction to Dickens for a generation of youngsters. The long runs (for example, 30 minute episodes over 13 weeks) gave time for the stories and characters to be explored – unlike the short, sharp adaptations we have recently.
The second session of the day opened with a showing of The Late Show programme Who Framed Charles Dickens first broadcast in 1994.
A discussion was chaired by Mark Lawson from the BBC, with panellists Diarmuid Lawrence (who directed the recent The Mystery of Edwin Drood), actor Sir Tom Courtenay who played William Dorrit in the BBC version of Little Dorrit, Sara Phelps (who adapted Oliver Twist and Great Expectations for the BBC) and Kate Harwood, BBC controller of Series and Serials Drama Production. The panel explored the episodic nature of Dickens’s writing and how his talent for description, unwittingly provides actors down the ages with detailed character notes. They highlighted the challenges too of not making versions of earlier adaptations. Phelps confided that she had to avoid watching David Lean’s
Great Expectations so that it would not colour her own version shown on the BBC at Christmas.
The day ended with a discussion on the tea–time dramas with script editor and producer Betty Willingdale, writer Terrance Dicks and the actor Clive Swift, who starred in the Pickwick Papers and Dombey & Son back in the 1960s. This was a whimsical look back at the old days and how the tea–time Dickens ticked the Reithian values box to Educate, Inform and Entertain, although it was observed that the adaptations were not always cosy and did not shy away from the harder themes. Sikes’s murder of Nancy in both the 1960s and 1980s versions were particularly gruesome and even prompted questions in the house from shocked MPs.
There was strong consensus in the room for film-makers to produce longer versions so that the minor characters could be explored – one of the particular strengths of Dickens’s works. But, as it all comes down to cost, we may never see the like again.
So while we may argue over the qualities of this or that production, ultimately we must heed Michael Eaton’s wise words: ‘Don’t take television adaptations by themselves – go back to the book.’
The Dickens on Screen season runs until March 22 with showings of most of the television and film works of the writer’s books. There is a small exhibition of vintage posters, costume designs and photographs on show at the BFI. For further details visit www.bfi.org.uk.