THEATRE ONLINE
Adapted by Ben Power from Charles Dickens’ novel Our Mutual Friend
Songs by PJ Harvey & Ben Power
National Theatre, 2023
Viewed online via National Theatre at Home – 26 Oct 2025
Running Time: 3 hours 15 minutes (approx.)
Streaming: National Theatre at Home
Stars: ★★★ (3)
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 1 Nov 2025. KH
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At a hefty three hours and 15mins, this is a marathon of a play. Around forty-five minutes could be trimmed without losing either plot or character development.
The story follows multiple threads exploring the lives of Londoners and their differing relationships to the River Thames: the impoverished underclass who rely on the river for survival, and the wealthy who live far from its fetid banks.
Condensing Dickens’ intricate narrative and his vast array of characters into one stage production is a formidable task. Power’s script strives to encompass too much, resorting to narration to explain plot points that could be shown more effectively through performance. The dialogue can be verbose, and as the play progresses, the tone edges toward melodrama.
The ensemble is committed and versatile. Bella Maclean brings vitality and wit to the ambitious Bella Wilfer, while Ami Tredrea lends quiet dignity and emotional depth to Lizzie Hexam. Accolades must go to the petite and vivacious Ellie-May Sheridan who steals the stage when she appears as Jenny Wren, Peter Wight is a warm, generous Noddy Boffin, and Joe Armstrong exudes menace as the crooked Rogue Riderhood.
Ian Rickson’s direction is fluid and imaginative, and Bunny Christie’s sparse yet evocative design conjures the grimy, shadowed streets of 19th-century London. The river itself—through lighting, sound, and movement—emerges as a living, breathing presence: murky, dangerous, and unrelenting.
PJ Harvey’s songs, unfortunately, are the production’s weakest link. They neither illuminate the characters nor advance the story. Too many sound alike, many are sung in unison, and the limited harmonies expose the cast’s uneven vocal skills. As the production wears on, the arrival of another song becomes wearying.
London Tide is striking to look at and often beautifully performed, but it needs judicious editing of script and score to become a more cohesive and compelling work and to achieve the emotional clarity and narrative drive Dickens deserves.
By Kate Herbert
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Creative Team/Production Details
Writer / Adapter: Ben Power
Based on: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Songs by: PJ Harvey & Ben Power
Director: Ian Rickson
Set & Costume Design: Bunny Christie
Lighting Design: Jack Knowles
Music Direction: Ian Ross
Sound Design: Tingying Dong & Christopher Shutt
Movement Direction: Anna Morrissey
Video Design: Hayley Egan
Fight Direction: Terry King
Casting Director: Bryony Jarvis-Taylor
Voice & Dialect Coach: Simon Money
Associate Set Designer: Verity Sadler
Staff Director: Yasmin Hafesji
Cast:
Brandon Grace as Charley Hexam,
Scott Karim as Bradley Headstone
Bella Maclean as Bella Wilfer
Tom Mothersdale as John Rokesmith,
Ami Tredrea as Lizzie Hexam
Peter Wight as Noddy Boffin
Beth Alsbury as Lavinia Wilfer, Joe Armstrong as Roger Riderhood, Crystal Condie as Miss Potterson, Laura Cubitt as Nancy, Miya James in the Ensemble, Stephen Kennedy as Reg Wilfer, Joshua Lacey as Inspector Bucket, Penny Layden as Mary Wilfer, Eric Mok as understudy Charlie Hexam, Liam Prince-Donnelly in the Ensemble, Georgia Silver as understudy Bella Wilfer, Ellie-May Sheridan as Jenny Wren, Jonathan Dryden Taylor as Mr Cleaver, John Vernon as understudy Reg Wilfer/Noddy Boffin/Mortimer Lightwood, Jamael Westman as Eugene Wrayburn, Jake Wood as Gaffer Hexam and Rufus Wright as Mortimer Lightwood.
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