A Tale of Two Cities

One of the darkest and most romantic of Dickens’ novels, A Tale of Two Cities is set in the late 18th century against the background of the French Revolution. In a time when governments all over the world are facing down political unrest and fierce protests, this revolutionary story has never been more relevant. The complex plot involves Sydney Carton sacrificing his own life on behalf of his friends Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette. While political events drive the story, lambasting aristocratic tyranny and revolutionary excess–the latter memorably caricatured in Madame Defarge who knits beside the guillotine, this adaptation reflects that ambition by having thirty characters played by just eight actors.