Oliver!

It’s been a year to the day since I was last at The Memorial Court Theatre in Northwich.  The last time I was here was to see KMTC’s brilliant production of Avenue Q.  Tonight, I returned to see their latest production of the classic musical OLIVER!

KMTC’s Oliver was directed by Ben Ireson.  Ben decided to stage the show traditionally.  There were some modern twists in his directing skills such as having a white cloth that was pulled side to side throughout the show; having video and picture projections on it to show location whilst the action was going on in front of the cloth.  I loved the use of the white cloth.  It enabled scene changes to go on in the background so that the audience never lost focus from the action.  Ben had a thrust catwalk that surrounded the orchestra.  This was also a great idea that I loved.  The catwalk was used well throughout to show travel and changing of locations.  Overall, I thought that direction was very good and that new concepts were apparent; having performed in this show three times and watching it (approx. another five times) it was good to see new concepts and ideas come to light.

Musical Direction was by Beckie Morley.  Beckie was fully in control of her orchestra.  For me, the orchestra were excellent; the violinist particularly.  There were times when the large cast ran away from the tempo but Beckie was on hand to rein them back in again each time. 

Choreography was by Leah Dovey-Evans.  Whilst there is very limited choreography in this show, the choreography that we saw was appropriate to the era and all cast members were very well rehearsed.  I could tell that the children were particularly well rehearsed - there was barely a child that put a foot wrong.

For me, lighting was generally good.  There were a few random lighting mis-cues and a few follow-spot errors, but I doubt many of the audience noticed this.  I really liked the colours that were used in scenes, particularly the reds and the green gels – this gave the scenes an eerily feeling.  I also like the use of torches in props.  This also gave us an eerily feeling.

Bailey Audio were at the helm of the sound.  For me, there were various issues with sound. The blend of the orchestra and the audience was great but some of the cast microphones popped from time to time and seemed a little muffled.  I don’t think that the acoustics in the Memorial Court Theatre are particularly great, so I have no doubt that the sound department struggled with the appropriate balance of cast mics.

The set was excellent.  It reflected the authentic style of the show and was used very well throughout.  I liked the use of levels and the cloths.

Costumes were appropriate to the era and visually pleasing.  I did not feel the same with the costume of Noah Claypole however.  I felt that his waistcoat, his trousers and his shoes were far too modern and too expensive looking.

Props and wigs were good.  I liked the authentic plates, milk carrying devise, baskets and food (during Food, Glorious Food).  Again, these small details reflected the traditional value of the show.

Oliver was suitably played by Alfie Blanchard.  He has the perfect amount of cuteness, sweetness and gusto to portray this role.  He was a good little actor who held his own.  There were a few slight tuning issues but the audience, and myself, didn’t care as he was great in the role.

Dodger was brilliantly played by Callum Eaves.  Callum had excellent energy and commanded the stage in every scene.  He had a great rapport with everyone on stage and although he tended to rush a few of his lines at the beginning, he soon settled in and showed brilliant commitment to character.

Jonathan Hall played the role of Fagin.  I really liked Jonathan’s interpretation of the role.  It reminded me a lot like Shakespeare’s ‘Shylock’.  Jonathan had a good rapport with his gang of thieves and has a great singing voice, which he managed to show during ‘Pick a Pocket’ and ‘Reviewing the Situation’.

Nancy was played by Lauren Cadwallader.  Lauren looked the part and sang her socks off during ‘As Long As He Needs Me’.  It is clear that Lauren is a singer with a great voice.  If I was to be a little picky, I would’ve liked to have seen a more vulnerable side to Nancy, but the audience enjoyed her performance very much.

David Hussin played the role of the evil mean-spirited Bill Sykes.  I have heard David sing before and he has an amazing voice.  For me, this role did not show off David’s talent.  I felt that a lot of the songs were too low and had to be sung/spoken.  Because of this, I lost some diction and articulation at times.  For the audience, David was suitably mean and angry but for me, I felt that there was a little too much acting angry, rather than being angry.

There are far too many other main roles for me to mention in any great detail.  For the most part, I enjoyed the performances that were played with truth and honesty.  I liked it when certain actors found the humour and acted when they were not speaking.  For the other part, it was clear that some actors forgot lines, or it was their first performance on stage in a while.  This is why I am not going to mention anyone specifically by name.  I do realise that his is amateur theatre and it is a fun hobby, and whilst I truly respect that, I am looking at things from a different perspective.  All I will say is that if you do something with as much truth and honesty; with both your character and the plot, then you can’t go too far wrong.   Saying that, I really enjoyed the crowd scenes and the obvious good vocal talent that KMTC have.  Overall, the children were a delight.  They were a well-drilled and well-oiled machine.  The show itself was good.  The audience certainly enjoyed it.  For me, it wasn’t the same standard as the excellent production of Avenue Q that I saw last year but I sincerely thank KMTC for their hospitality and wish them very well for their next production of All Shook Up! 

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