Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The

Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The (1981). No play of the decade had a more expensive ticket ($100 for the two full‐length parts), received higher critical praise, and aroused such excitement in New York than this ingenious London stage version of Charles Dickens's novel. The nine‐and‐a‐half‐hour production by the Royal Shakespeare Company employed forty‐two actors to portray 138 speaking roles in telling the tale of poverty‐stricken schoolmaster Nicholas ( Roger Rees) and his fight for survival and righteousness during the Industrial Revolution. David Edgar wrote the adaptation and Trevor Nunn and John Caird co‐directed the sprawling tale of passion, humor, pathos, villainy, and adventure that won the Tony and NYDCC Awards. The limited ninety‐eight‐performance run at the Plymouth Theatre was sold out once the rave reviews were forthcoming; scalpers were reportedly getting $2,000 a ticket for the much‐sought‐after attraction. It was revived by the RSC on Broadway in 1986 but was only mildly successful the second time around.