Innovation makes Gradgrind such a delight

8:13am Monday 3rd March 2008

THOMAS Gradgrind in Dickens' Hard Times is a man with no time for poetry, theatre or other creative pursuits.

What would he have felt about Icon Theatre's physical and untraditional production of Gradgrind, I wonder? Three actors tell the story of Thomas Gradgrind (played impressively by Tom Peters), a man concerned mainly with facts and learning rather than emotions.

The actors play several characters each, swapping seamlessly between. Gradgrind successes are its energetic cast and new ideas. It is innovative in its use of mime, physical action and puppetry. Icon Theatre here shows us how important our imaginations are in creating and responding to theatre.

Lucy Rix

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