The thing about people walking out of a show by Miriam Margolyes OBE ten minutes before the end was that it wasn’t clear if they’d had enough or if, just like Six at the Edinburgh Fringe a few years ago, they hadn’t appreciated it was seventy minutes long and not sixty, and had to dash off to another show. Or maybe both. The reaction to a social media post from your reviewer simply saying he was sitting in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre waiting for Margolyes’ show to start was enough to provoke a wide range of reactions – from those who enjoy hearing what she has to say, and those who most definitely do not.
Miriam Margolyes. Photo by Steve Ullathorne
It seemed to me that she wasn’t in the least bit bothered about her detractors, and at 84 years young, she need not prove herself anymore. Judging by this performance, I found her to be very civilised, especially in her interactions with the audience in the final section of the show – the bit that took the whole thing over the one-hour mark. Having discussed, earlier in the show, her role of Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter motion picture series, she made clear her views on transgender people in a kind interaction with a trans audience member – and without laying into JK Rowling.
There were questions from the audience, submitted by scanning a QR code (on display on a giant screen on stage before the show started), following the link and typing out the question – presumably there was some weeding out of inappropriate and nonsensical ones, though on the evening I attended, the questions ranged from who was the worst person she ever worked with (John Cleese, apparently, dropping the c-word as a succinct putdown) to what sex advice she would give to young lesbians. The context of the latter question is Margolyes’ relationship with Heather Sutherland, an Australian historian and retired academic, which goes back as far as 1967.
She reads from a script, though often sets it down to recite and perform one of the myriad characters created by Charles Dickens (1812-1870). Margolyes likes to be larger than life, and so, according to her powers of deduction, did Dickens. Her vocal range remains strong and impressive, whether she is putting on the voice of the Cadbury caramel rabbit, or Dame Maggie Smith (in order to recollect a conversation she once had with her), or a Dickensian character. If you’re wholly unfamiliar with the canon of Dickens, you might struggle with some of the extracts, but as Margolyes suggests at the beginning, there’s a clue in the show’s title. But she also, in response to an audience member’s question, gave a thorough answer to a question about which Dickens novels a newbie should read first. It was also difficult to disagree with her criticisms of parliamentarians. A surprisingly warm and disarmingly charming performance.
Review by Chris Omaweng
‘Please, sir, I want some more… Miriam!‘ you asked. Having sold every ticket in 2024, Miriam Margolyes returns with more – more characters, more Dickens and more fascinating stories about the man behind the classics. At 84, Miriam’s energy and passion are undimmed and her performance as electric as ever. Then it’s over to your questions for an unfiltered free-for-all of outrageous honesty, hilarious new anecdotes and unapologetic opinions. More laughs. More Miriam.
MARGOLYES & DICKENS: MORE BEST BITS
Edinburgh International Conference Centre at the Edinburgh Fringe
9 to 24 August 2025
