Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a great enthusiast of the theatre, and was involved with amateur theatricals throughout his successful career as an author. His novels were written in a theatrical style, and lent themselves ideally to the many staged versions that sprang up as soon as his works were published.

The evening's entertainment at the Free Trade Hall Manchester on 11 February 1852, advertised by this poster, was produced and directed by Charles Dickens, 'for the twelfth time'. The original impetus for this evening was Dickens' establishment in 1850 of The Guild of Literature and Art, which he founded with Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, the playwright of the comedy Not So Bad As We Seem. The double bill was originally produced on 27 May 1851, at an evening's entertainment to launch the Guild at Devonshire House, the Piccadilly home of the Duke of Devonshire who paid the expenses of the original production. Dickens was both actor and stage manager, and co-opted many of his artistic and literary friends into the cast and production team. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert came to the Devonshire House event, and its great success was repeated several times during 1851 and 1852, at London's Hanover Square Rooms, and in other large towns such as Manchester.