The Personal History of David Copperfield

In this new adaptation of the Charles Dickens' classic of the same name, David Copperfield (Dev Patel, 'Lion') begins to tell the audience his life story growing up in the heavily classist society of Victorian England. Coppefield begins his tale as a boy once doted upon by his mother (Morfydd Clark, 'Crawl') and nursemaid Peggotty (Daisy May Cooper, 'This Country') who is abandoned and despised by his stepfather, Edward Murdstone (Darren Boyd, 'Spy') after his mother passes away. From a boarding school to a bottle factory, Copperfield is shunted from place to place but remains determined to cling on to his spirit and to do everything possible to prove that he has what it takes to be successful in the world. Eventually, David makes his way to the house of his intimidating aunt Betsey Trotwood (Tilda Swinton, 'The Chronicles of Narnia'), who spends her time angrily chasing away donkeys from the local field and chatting away to her lodger, Mr Dick (Hugh Laurie, 'House'). Betsey offers to sponsor David as he becomes a gentleman and a writer, a generosity that David is determined to pay back when he realises that somebody may be after his aunt's money.

'The Personal History of David Copperfield' is directed by Armando Iannucci ('The Death of Stalin', 'Veep')