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Mrs Jarley welcomes you to meet her waxworks

Christine ButlerLostwithiel
News imageBBC Bearded man with a bishops hat on poses with a hard stare inside a cut out would be stone pillar. The pillar is painted grey with leaves and is made of cardboard. BBC
Props maker Mark Cordory assumes the pose of the Green Bishop

A collection of weird and wonderful characters inspired by a favourite Dickens personality are being brought to life in a theatre production on Saturday and Sunday.

Mrs Jarley's Waxworks, first shown in Lostwithiel, Cornwall in 1890, has been resurrected for modern audiences who can expect to meet characters such as the Green Bishop and Mr Camborne.

Mrs Jarley and her travelling show was a character created by Charles Dickens in The Old Curiosity Shop.

Merryn Threadgould, the writer, director and producer of the show, said: "People liked Mrs Jarley so much she sort of sprang off the page and people in Britain and America started putting on Mrs Jarley's Waxworks."

Threadgould added: "It's quite hard to explain to people but basically Mrs Jarley runs the show and gives a kind of monologue and as the curtain goes back you will see lots of waxworks which may well bear resemblance to the people in town."

The producer said the audience would be able to embrace the show's quirkiness.

"This is all about a Cornish springtime...all the audience members will be offered a hat with flowers, children will be offered moustaches.

"It changes people's attitude to the show because you're already playing.

"We've added sound effects this year which I think are very funny."

News imageA lady with long blonde hair is smiling at the camera. There are red sofas and chairs behind her
Merryn Threadgould said some of the waxworks might resemble modern-day people

Audiences will witness the miraculous healing power of the Men an Tol stone, see a typical Cornish potato farmer at work in a spring field and be fascinated by Mr Camborne, the world's first spring cleaning robot.

Mark Cordory is a professional props, puppet and costume maker, more used to working for Dr Who. Having completed the Green Bishop he said: "Cardboard boxes ahoy and a bit of papier mache and here we are."

Seventy people are involved in the show, including three different Mrs Jarleys.

Mrs Jarley is only a minor character in The Old Curiosity Shop but her story became popular in amateur theatre after the book was published in 1841.

Inspired by Madame Tussaud's models, Mrs Jarley was the owner of a collection of still wax figures which Dickens said she displayed on stage.

There are 10 shows of Mrs Jarley's Waxworks Spring Collection being performed between Saturday 25 April and Sunday 26 April.

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