David Morrissey on Hard Times and Dickens: "He would be surprised how little has changed"

Speaking to Radio Times, Morrissey discusses why the writer's work still feels as relevant as ever...

Were you introduced to Dickens as a child?

"No. Dickens and Shakespeare were not a part of my [school] curriculum at all. I came to him in my early 20s. There was something about the volume and size of the books that I found intimidating, but then I realised when I started reading them that there was nothing intimidating in the language and that they rocked along.

"We know now that he wrote them episodically and they were like modern soap operas. They captivated everybody and that's why newspaper proprietors just loved them – Dickens was one of the main reasons people bought their papers. He has 'come back next week' cliffhangers and big moments.

"I played Bradley Headstone in Our Mutual Friend on BBC Two in 1998, which is very much about intriguing characters: funny, tragic, political. I think certainly with Hard Times there is a modern political aspect to it as well. So, yes, I came to him late. It wasn't part of my education, but once I dipped my toe in, that was it – I was really smitten!"

Tell us more about the connections you see to current politics in Hard Times.

"My bugbear for a long time has been people like Michael Gove when he was the Secretary of State for Education [2010–14]. He downgraded what he called 'soft options': arts, music, drama, media studies, things like that.

"So, he was basically saying to a whole generation of state-educated pupils that these subjects aren't worth it. Put your energy into what business is telling us we need: maths, English, science. The consequence of that is quashing the imagination, creativity, curiosity, the idea of fantasy."

What relevance do you see between Dickens's novels and contemporary times?

"When we are talking about downgrading the arts – in particular in state schools – what you do see is the flipside of that in private schools, some of which have theatre and orchestra facilities that would rival the West End and Royal Philharmonic Society.

"It means you are saying the arts are available to one strata of society, basically the rich, and not available to this other side, which is basically the workforce. You are creating a narrative that is, 'This isn't for you.'

"It's always been the case that, for the powers that be, educating the masses is a dangerous undertaking because people start asking questions – they start getting informed, they start finding things out. I hope that Labour are making all their tough decisions early on and will then start rebuilding the sort of society I hoped they would."

What do you think Dickens would make of modern-day Britain?

"I think he would be surprised by how little has changed. I think he would be devastated by the river [Thames] and some of the architecture that has been allowed to appear along it. I think he would be appalled by all the noise and pollution.

"I think most people around at that time would have thought that in the future we would have become a more egalitarian and humanitarian place."

Are there any Dickens roles that you would love to play?

"Dombey [from Dombey and Son]. I think he's a great character. There's something about him that I have always loved. Like Gradgrind, he's a character that's stuck in his ways. But he's also grief-stricken. He's a man who felt that he had one destiny, and it's snatched away from him, and he can't live in the present because he is so locked into the past.

"One of my favourite Dickens books is Night Walks. He was an insomniac and he used to just walk round London at night and write about his observations. It's very much ruminations on life and the poverty-stricken side of London. Dickens, himself, as a character, I find fascinating. He was obviously a complex individual."

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