When Charles Dickens rescued Oliver Twist from the clutches of Victorian depravity, he created villains and victims to serve his purpose. Out With Time gives some of those maligned characters a chance to redeem themselves and tell their own story. To Dickens, Mr. Bumble was the pompous beadle of the workhouse and Oliver’s tormentor. Nancy, on the other hand, was Oliver’s protector, but Dickens sacrifices her to the evil machinations of Bill Sikes. In Out With Time we learn that Nancy is not simply a hapless victim but a fighter for what is right. Mr. Bumble, it must be conceded, does only what he can.

Together, Nancy and Bumble are an odd couple but also a formidable team. They strive to return a sense of civilization to the small Kentish town where Dickens started his tale. Even before Oliver makes his appearance, we see the couple wrestling with racism, sexism and even leading the way in a refugee crisis. In a curious resonance with the modern era, this story shows that the story of Mr. Bumble and Nancy is one that is not bound to a bygone age. Their destinies may be, in part, predetermined but Out With Time gives them the space to assert their own identities in defiance of any author.