‘Great Expectations’ to kick off performance series Sept. 22

The Lewes Public Library’s Spoken Word Society welcomes Gerald Dickens, great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, for a special one-man performance of “Great Expectations,” at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 22, in the Lewes Elementary School auditorium, 820 Savannah Road, Lewes.

“Great Expectations” is one of Charles Dickens’ greatest novels and a personal favorite of Gerald Dickens. Gerald takes Pip from the lonely, cold Kent marshes on a journey into the respectable world of London, introducing some of Charles Dickens’ most memorable characters along the way: Miss Haversham, Estella, Herbert Pocket, Mr. Jaggers, Wemmick, and the Aged P. Although simply staged, Gerald Dickens’ adaptation is truly dramatic and thoroughly engaging.

“Great Expectations” kicks off the Spoken Word Society’s fall-winter performance series, which also includes performances by Delaware Shakespeare  Thursday, Oct. 5, and Sunday, Oct. 15; a Halloween reading of “Poe by Candlelight” Sunday, Oct. 29, and traditional Truman Capote holiday favorites “The Thanksgiving Visitor” Saturday, Nov. 18 and “A Christmas Memory” Saturday, Dec. 16

Gerald Dickens will return to Lewes in December for his beloved one-man performance of “A Christmas Carol” Friday, Dec. 8.

All performances are free, and registration is required. To register for “Great Expectations” and other upcoming shows, go to tinyurl.com/SWSFall2023 or call the library at 302-645-2733.

The Lewes Spoken Word Society celebrates the tradition and artistry of oral storytelling through lectures, performances, discussions, demonstrations, and other publicly-shared experiences. The LSWS is partially funded by the generous support of Becker Morgan Group, Browseabout Books, Cape Gazette, GFWC Zwaanendael Women’s Club, John and Sally Freeman Foundation and M&T Charitable Foundation.