23 NOVEMBER 1951, Page 5

That Charles Dickens himself—or anyone else at all—could give readings

of Dickens' works comparable to those offered by Mr. Emlyn Williams at the Criterion is so hard to believe as to be virtually incredible. For Emlyn Williams, after all, is one of the most accomplished actors of the day, and while he imper- sonates Dickens in an admirable make-up, he breathes life into each one of the diverse charaoters—Mr. Podsnap and his snobbery, Paul Dombey and his pathos, " Mr. Chops " and the circus proprietor who tells his story, and all the rest—that figure in his changing repertoire. Has Mr. Emlyn Williams created a new genre—or rather re-created an old one ? It will be interest- ing to see. There can be few theatres which offer such attractions at the moment as the Criterion.