A Victorian journalist picks up his pen in Lancaster again next week for a revival of the one-man show The Hewitson Diaries at the Dukes Theatre in the city.
Anthony Hewitson was born in Lancaster, and trained as a printer’s apprentice there, before establishing himself as a journalist and historian in Preston. His diaries – only discovered by his great niece Margaret Dickinson in 1975 – provide a unique insight into the life and times of a man who chronicled news, and gossip, across the county in the 19th century.
Actor John Hickey becomes Hewitson as he begins his diary keeping in 1865, amidst personal domestic turmoil. He continued writing them for 47 years, until his death in 1912, detailing – with acerbic wit and moving insight – the people he meets, and how his personal views often differed from his published opinions. Incidental music is by pianist Malcom Sim.
The play was first performed at Preston’s Uclan Media Factory 10 years ago and was adapted from the original diaries by writer and director Derek Martin, in collaboration with Dr Andrew Hobbs, a former Lancashire journalist, and now senior lecturer in journalism at Uclan.
The Hewitson Diaries is performed on November 11.
Details: https://dukeslancaster.org/whats-on/theatre/the-hewitson-diaries
Volume 1 of the diaries is also available as a free download: https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0262