Oliver Twist: The 1905 Theatrical Adaptation

Originally produced by the legendary Herbert Beerbohm Tree at His Majesty's Theatre, J. Comyns Carr's adaptation of the Dickens novel was a tremendous success with audiences and critics alike. In Comyns Carr version, all of the usual Victorian melodrama was eliminated and he re-imagined the story for modern Edwardian audiences, the results critics noted was with "extraordinary skill" and a "brilliant effort." One reviewer for The Sketch went as far as to write "Comyns Carr has constructed the best of the many stage versions of "Oliver Twist" that have seen the footlights." Soon after its London premiere, the play had a successful Broadway production and was again revived in 1912 for another successful run.