Louise Beresford, Luke Barton, and Eddy Payne Photo by Harry Elletson

As director, Abigail Pickard Rice has certainly taken on a challenge with this recursively cast show. Happily, she ensures that the narrative moves on without flagging and demonstrates wonderful ingenuity in the storytelling, even allowing for surprising belly laughs. The very able performers enact the wide-ranging story with a flair and relish that is downright infectious. Eddy Payne is a most winning and wide-eyed David Copperfield, while the very engaging Louise Beresford and charmingly deft Luke Barton entertainingly and strikingly populate David's world with a multitude of notable persona and the occasional puppet.

An essential part of the fun of this show are the rapid shifts of locale and the lightning role changes. Set and costume designer Neil Irish (with co-costume designer Anett Black) creates a veritable curio cabinet of storytelling that assembles and garbs the action as needed. Assisted by Mark Dymock's lighting and Matt Eaton's sound designs, complete pictures are made where interiors transform into the seaside, trunks assemble into a coach, actors transform from one person into another, while empty attire and hats can actually become major characters.

With all that goes on in David Copperfield, I would love to sit backstage just to admire the energetic efforts of the cast; the production and company stage manager, Hannah Walker; and the production stage manager, Madeleine Blossom, as they relentlessly ensure the show barrels forward in its highly diverting way. Still, the onstage proceedings are satisfying enough.

If I have to point out one pitfall, it is that with all the plot twists and rapid role changes, spectators who are not familiar with the story can be left scrambling, although they too will have an enjoyable time.

Overall, David Copperfield is an imaginative piece of theatre that is truly well worth the watching but is even better if you brush up on your Dickens first.