Armando Iannucci’s “The Personal History of David Copperfield” announced as BBC Children in Need Schools Fundraising Partner.

Today (Wednesday 17th July 2019), BBC Children in Need has announced that it will be partnering with Lionsgate UK, the local distributors of new film adaptation “The Personal History of David Copperfield” to encourage secondary schools across the UK to get fundraising for BBC Children in Need’s 2019 Appeal by performing their own version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale.

Secondary schools will be invited to download an exclusive 30 minute version of the film script written by the director and co-writer of the film Armando Iannucci and co-writer Simon Blackwell, both Oscar-nominated for their screenplay for In The Loop, and regular Iannucci-collaborator David Schneider (The Death of Stalin). The script will provide an opportunity for students to build on their acting skills and self-confidence whilst raising money for BBC Children in Need by selling tickets to peers, teachers and parents to come and watch their performance. The script will be available for schools and teachers to download online from September onwards.

Directed by Armando Iannucci, and written by Iannucci and Simon Blackwell, adapted from the classic novel by Charles Dickens, “The Personal History of David Copperfield” brings to life one of the author’s most cherished characters. 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. The film stars Dev Patel in the title role alongside a wealth of British talent including Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw and Paul Whitehouse.

Armando Iannucci, Director of “The Personal History of David Copperfield”, commented “I feel so proud to be supporting this year’s BBC Children in Need’s schools fundraising campaign. The story of David Copperfield is a classic one; it looks at not only youth, new friendships and the experience of growing into adulthood, but also at poverty and neglect – sadly, still very real issues confronted by children in the UK today. I hope students will enjoy the script and have fun fundraising for BBC Children in Need with their brilliant performances.”

BBC Children in Need’s Commercial Director, Claire Hoyle, said of the new partnership: “We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Lionsgate and The Personal History of David Copperfield; this is a unique opportunity for secondary school students to showcase their acting abilities while helping to transform the lives of children and young people across the UK. We feel this will encourage more schools and teachers to get involved in schools fundraising and help make a positive impact on young lives.”