Miriam Margolyes has announced her first Edinburgh Fringe run for 12 years, coming to the Pleasance Pentland Room at the EICC for 9 afternoons at 4pm from 7th – 15th August! Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits is a show a show packed full of passionate performances and infamously honest stories & life lessons from the national treasure.
Margolyes says: “The Fringe makes you brave. I am overjoyed to be back! An old c**t having a go. Fun friction, Mr Dickens and me…and YOU!”
Combining her infectious love for Charles Dickens with her phenomenal versatility, the unstoppable 82-year-old brings to life the most colourful and iconic characters from his timeless novels. She will then open the floor to the audiences unexpurgated questions, sharing the stories and life lessons that have made her a bestseller and the undisputed queen of the chat show. Ask her anything: she'll tell the truth. Guaranteed to offend and delight!
Aside from her love of Charles Dickens she also has a passion for radio and is highly outspoken on talk shows, for which she is much in demand. She loves Martha Argerich and Cecilia Bartoli. She is a lesbian, a non-believing Jew and an Arsenal fan. She loathes Trump, Boris Johnson and Modi. She loves India, food, politics and Italy.
Born in Oxford and educated at Cambridge and now a dual UK and Australian citizen, Miriam Margolyes is a veteran of stage and screen, who has achieved success on both sides of the Atlantic. She was Professor Sprout in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (parts II & 8). Her numerous other major films include Yentl, Little Shop of Horrors, I Love You To Death, End of Days, Sunshine, Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, Cold Comfort Farm and Magnolia. Amongst her many awards, she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for The Age of Innocence and was awarded the OBE for her services to drama in 2002. She was the voice of the Matchmaker in Mulan and Fly, the mother dog, in Babe.
Her most memorable TV credits include Old Flames, Freud, Life and Loves of a She Devil, Blackadder, The Girls of Slender Means, Oliver Twist, The History Man, Vanity Fair and Supply & Demand. Margolyes played naughty Grandma Rose in Sky's comedy series Trollied and was a major part of the all-star cast in The Real Marigold Hotel for BBC1 and the sequels.
Stage credits include Madame Morrible in both the London & Broadway productions of WICKED, Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit (Melbourne Theatre Company), The Vagina Monologues, Sir Peter Hall's Los Angeles production of Romeo & Juliet, and her own award-winning, one-woman show, Dickens’ Woman, performed at Festivals in Edinburgh, London, Sydney, Jerusalem, Santa Cruz, USA, New York City, Boston & all over India.
Miriam is still working in drama and documentaries today playing Mother Superior in Call The Midwife and last year was the Voice of Meep in Dr Who. In 2022, she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by BBC RADIO. Between 2021 and 2022 Miriam and Alan Cummings travelled around Scotland and the US with Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland and Lost in Scotland & Beyond. She is also a veteran theatre and voice-over actress and recorded 6 podcasts for Audible: Growing Old Disgracefully. And most recently, Miriam has penned two bestselling memoirs - This Much is True and Oh Miriam.
Tickets go on sale at 10am today here.
Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits
Venue: Pleasance @ The EICC – Pentland
Dates: 7th – 15th August
Time: 4.00pm
