Oliver

It is always a pleasure to be invited to the award winning KYDS productions and meet the wonderful front of house members who all help to keep this company going.  The enthusiasm and dedication of the cast and crew is obvious from the first rise of the curtain. With a full house, the buzz of the audience full of family and friends it is good to know that this youth group has such support from the local community.

From the original Dickens story of the orphan boy, Oliver Twist, Lionel Bart created a wonderful musical classic which has delighted audiences since 1960. From the opening song ‘Food Glorious Food’, we saw the very large group of cast in grey costumes and dirty faces sing their hearts out. The award winning score features many well-loved songs such as ‘Consider Yourself’, ’Who Will Buy’ ‘Oom Pah Pah’ and ‘As Long as He Needs Me’. 

New director Bradley Cole has given this show a simple touch using very little scenery and limited Victorian flair, something which I felt was sometimes needed. For me it was just a little too basic but he had huge support from a very strong cast of principals, who helped bring the story to life. A seven piece orchestra led by Musical Director Leah Cave was a great addition.

Eleven year old Beau Hens took on the title role of Oliver. With his sweet expressions and clear singing voice he was totally suitable for the role. His solo ‘Where is love’ brought many a tear to the eye in the audience.  He also had a clear beautifully spoken voice.

Ben Collins and Emily Hatton as Mr Bumble and Widow Corney worked well together and I loved them singing ‘I shall scream’ song.  Ben’s solo ‘Boy for Sale’ was superb. Ben’s voice has matured even more over the last few months and now has a lovely rich sound to add to his wonderful stage presence on stage. Emily also has a delightful voice and confidence on stage.

I loved Mr & Mrs Sowerberry, which was brought to life by Matthew Greed and Millie Sheldrick. Good characterisation here and full of humour and energy. Good direction in this scene.

Next we get to see Oliver meeting The Artful Dodger – cheekily played by Charlie Warner.  Charlie always gives such a fun performance and his smile lights the stage.

On to Fagin’s Den, with Tom Nicoll in the much coveted role of Fagin. His height, demeanour plus his wonderful characterisation of Fagin made me smile and sing along as he and the cast sang ‘You have to pick a pocket or two’. Well done Tom.

Towards the end of Act one, we meet Nancy and her friend Bet. (Lola Emson and Grace Robards). Both these girls were excellent with clear mature singing voices. Lola certainly got everyone singing and with the opening of Act 2 – her Oom Pah Pah was a delight. I also loved her rendition of ‘As Long as he needs me’.

Now enter Bill Sykes singing ‘My Name’. Looking suitably menacingly evil in black with dark makeup, he used his cudgel to great effect putting the fear of God into the boys of Fagin’s den.  Mr Brownlow and Mrs Bedwin (Olly Smith and Daisy Loerns) were suitably elegant and acted well on stage.Mentions must also be made for the lovely singing voices of Amy Swallow as The Milkmaid, Lana Willis-Gill as The Rose Seller.

The support from the ensemble was as usual very well executed and you could see that everyone on the stage was enjoying themselves. Maybe a little bit more certainty with the choreography in the scenes, with everyone on, might have made it a little more seamless. I also think that the crew would have done better to have pulled the downstage tab across whilst completing set changes, as this did detract from the show a little.  Lighting and sound were suitable for the show as were costumes and makeup,

This was a really feel good musical with excellent performances from the whole cast. It is always a pleasure to see how much the young cast are improving from one show to the next and I look forward to seeing their next pantomime in November.

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