A ‘DICKENS in Darlington’ season will celebrate links between the iconic author and the town where his brother died a penniless alcoholic.

The final resting place of Frederick Dickens, believed to be the inspiration for Little Nell’s dissolute brother in The Old Curiosity Shop, is in Darlington’s West Cemetery.

The once favoured sibling of one of Britain’s best-loved authors had lived alone and poverty-stricken in the town after falling into debt and alcoholism.

When he died aged 48, Charles Dickens helped to pay for his funeral but did not attend, sending his son to represent him.

Inspired by the little known story, Darlington musicians Rob Irish and David Saunders began performing as The Black Sheep Frederick Dickens.

They will take to the stage at The Hippodrome’s Theatre Hullabaloo on Friday, November 23 as part of the venue’s Dickens in Darlington season, which will also feature a production of A Christmas Carol, being staged from November 24 until December 23.

David Saunders said the performance would allow them to give audiences a “gothic experience of history and culture” by combining music and literature in a theatrical show.

He added: “We wanted people to know more about the inspiration behind the music we make, more about Frederick Dickens and his relationship with his brother Charles.

“We want to tell people about how the story fits to our music and how we’ve taken it and made it a metaphor for modern living.

“We have interesting stories about the brothers and funny anecdotes about our songwriting process and the collating of sound samples we recorded around town.

“We’re very visceral performers and believe this is going to be a good mix of interesting and entertaining.”

The event will also see North-East author Francoise Harvey give readings from Charles Dickens excerpts.

The Black Sheep Frederick Dickens will also be supported by Veil, who will provide a live soundtrack to silent film At Land.

  • Tickets for the event, which begins at 8pm, are £8 and available from The Hippodrome’s box office by calling 01325 405405 or visiting darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk.
  • For more information about The Black Sheep Frederick Dickens, visit Facebook.