David Copperfield is returning to Bury St Edmunds. Charles Dickens’ young hero brought Angel Hill to a standstill in the spring of 2018 when writer-director Armando Iannucci turned The Athenaeum into a Victorian theatre and the Angel Hotel into a London coaching inn.

%image(15253183, type="article-full", alt="The film crew transformed Bury's Angel Hill into a bustling London street for The Personal History of David Copperfield. Photo: Andrew Clarke")

Carriages rattled back and forth as 19th century street scenes were filmed in the parking area infront of the Abbeygate and Cathedral buildings. Later the Theatre Royal provided the backdrop for the Victorian theatre interiors.

Now, the finished film is gaining a preview screening at Abbeygate Cinema in Hatter Street in order to raise funds for its 2020 Building Blocks campaign. This campaign is helping to bankroll Phase Two of the cinema's building development which will see two new auditoria built in the old Bingo Hall.

Armando Iannucci's hotly-anticipated Dickens' adaptation, The Personal History of David Copperfield, will be previewed in Bury St Edmunds the weekend before it goes on general release. The star-studded film features Dev Patel in the title role alongside a wealth of British talent including Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw and Paul Whitehouse.

An avid Dickens fan, Armando Iannucci, the award-winning writer/director of The Thick of It, In the Loop, Veep and The Death of Stalin, adaptation, working alongside frequent collaborator Simon Blackwell, employs his comedic mastery and vivid characterizations to bring to life one of Dickens' most cherished characters in The Personal History of David Copperfield. From birth to infancy, from adolescence to adulthood, the good-hearted David Copperfield is surrounded by kindness, wickedness, poverty and wealth, as he meets an array of remarkable characters in Victorian England. As David sets out to be a writer, in his quest for family, friendship, romance and status, the story of his life is the most seductive tale of all.

%image(15253185, type="article-full", alt="An actor waits for the cry "Action!" during filming of a new star-studded David Copperfield film featuring Dev Patel, Peter Capaldi, Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie which was shot in Bury St Edmunds Picture: NAOMI WILLCOX")

Tickets are now on sale for this special event, which includes a glass of Prosecco and popcorn on arrival, but are going fast. There will be an opportunity for guests to mingle with members of the Abbeygate team in the new foyer and hear a brief outline of the cinema's development plans.

The Personal History of David Copperfield preview, rated PG, is being screened at Abbeygate Cinema, Bury St Edmunds, on Saturday January 18 2020. Doors open 7.30pm arrival for 8pm screening.

Tickets: £35 each (no member discount) which includes glass of Prosecco and mini popcorn on arrival. Book online at www.abbeygatecinema.co.uk