Australian actor returns to Guernsey with Victor Hugo one-man show

Tuesday, 1 September 2026 12:05

A one-man play will explore how Victor Hugo wrote The Toilers of the Sea while living in exile in Guernsey.

Patrick Dickson grew up on Guernsey, before launching a professional acting career in London in the mid-70s, and eventually moving to Australia.

He has appeared in a number of TV shows, including Carson's Law and Home and Away.

Patrick says he has always cherished The Toilers of the Sea, the famous novel written by Victor Hugo during his 15 years living in Guernsey.

Believing the nautical adventure was too long and complicated for modern audiences, Patrick first created an abridged version before turning it into a two-hour one-man show.

In collaboration with the upcoming Victor Hugo Centre, Patrick will return to Guernsey to perform The Brainstorm over three nights in October.

The play imagines how Hugo created The Toilers of the Sea around 160 years ago, bringing around a dozen characters to life through a single actor.

"We meet Victor Hugo in his lookout on top of Hauteville House.

"He's obviously been for long walks, and he's like a magpie, he's picked up all kinds of stories and characters and events.

"In the play, we see him put them all together in a big story arc, which will become his next big best-selling novel, The Toilers of the Sea."

Patrick says this is a passion project he is proud of.

"My heart reached out to my childhood and the island of Guernsey and the people of Guernsey and the stories of Guernsey, and I just got kind of obsessive about The Toilers of the Sea."

He last brought the play over in 2019.