No, the expectations were not great, not great at all. They were, in fact, bleak.

Set in 19th century England as a parody of the works of Charles Dickens, the comedy Bleak Expectations was presented Sunday by the North Platte High Theatre Department.

The play was also performed by the student actors on Thursday and Friday evenings, as well as the Sunday matinee.

Bleak Expectations is written by Mark Evans based on his BBC Radio 4 show of the same name. It is about the life and times of Sir Philip Bin, the inventor of the bin.

The older version of Bin, played by Braxtton Songster, is the narrator, while the younger version of the character, Pip Bin, played by Henry Cline, acted the scenes.

The story begins with Bin’s upbringing, with his two sisters, Pippa (Xaivria Lemmer) and Poppy (Mackenzie Bruns). After the death of his father, Pip is sent to a boarding school by an evil guardian, Gently Benevolent (Jesse Smith).

At boarding school, Pip meets his best friend, Harry Biscuit (Finnley Eickhoff). Pip and Biscuit escape the boarding school and foil a wedding between Pippa and Benevolent. Later, Pip moves to London where he goes from rags to riches on his way to a final confrontation with Benevolent.

Sunday’s performance was an impressive showing by the cast and Cline, in particular, as the lead.

The crowd of about 100 clearly enjoyed the show and laughed at the jokes.

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