Oliver!

The 8th of May saw myself and my little lad (Joey) attend Oliver! at The Charter Theatre, Preston presented by Preston Musical Comedy Society.  It was a busy opening night with plenty of seats filled and an active audience throughout the show.

I have been part of Oliver! on many occasions in differing roles, so I was looking forward to watching this one with some previous knowledge of the show.  I have to say I was really pleased with some of the small nuances concentrated on by the production team in this version.  The opening scene was suitably dark and mysterious with a clever telling of the pre-story.  A great use of lighting and scenery made the audience feel suitably uncomfortable about the beginnings of this dark story.  Lorna Cookson did a great job in directing this piece and managed to find some clever use of humour that I hadn’t seen before.  Lorna, an accomplished performer in her own right, has managed to direct this show in a fresh way with some clever scenery and direction choices as well as some great characters that usually are missed and over shadowed by the main, named characters.

The big hit of this show is undoubtedly Gary Jones-McCaw, who’s interpretation of Fagin was pure class!  His comic timing was impeccable and his mannerisms were secure and effective, he was a joy to watch and he held the audience in the palm of his hand for the full night and the audience, rightfully, showed their appreciation during the bows.  Not to be outdone, Kathy Anderson as Nancy showed a secure performance and lovely vocals in the leading lady’s role.  She belted out her big numbers much to the audiences approval, good job.  I found the comedic roles of Mr Bumble (Ian Lawson) and Widow Corney (Emma Norman) fun to watch and it was great to see their relationship develop to a very funny and almost “Thenardier”ish climax!  Emma has unrivalled comedic talent and delivers her character very well, a pleasure to watch.  Ian brought a new take on Mr Bumble for me, very funny, though at times maybe a little too risqué for this show, I’ve never seen Mr Bumble played this way.  I would like to take this opportunity to mention the supporting roles of Bet (Pippa Lane) and Bill Sykes (James Moss) who’s performances were “just right”! Bet was loving and approachable and a real mini Nancy and Bill made the whole audience squirm with his rendition of “My Name”.  Strong vocally and looked the part as the murderous bully, however some slight drops in character and accent during some of the more wordy parts of the 2nd Act. Mr & Mrs Sowerberry (Stephen Hall & Delphine Walton) did a good job as the sinister undertakers that take in Oliver and treat him like a servant.  With Chrlotte and Noah Claypole (Lyndsey Gornall and Arron McGregor) giving suitable and confident performances as the love struck youngsters working in the undertakers.  The accomplished performance of Mr Brownlow came from Eddie Reagan and it was lovely to see him on the stage again, instead of writing this review as District 2 rep.

Special mention has to go to the younger cast in this production that took the stage with huge levels of energy and character.  The first number that they performed was maybe a little too energetic as timing with the band was slightly out, however this lasted for a matter of seconds and the expert conducting of Charles Moss brought the whole thing together before the second roaring “Food, Glorious Food”.  The gang of lads, (and may I say well done for finding enough lads to perform as the gang!) were well drilled in their movement and their vocals were fantastic as a whole group.  Strong individual performances coming from the title performer Oliver (Owen Dickinson) who’s vocals were as pure as Mark Lesters’ original performance and his vocals were secure and sung beautifully.  His character was fitting of the role of Oliver and the audience took to him early on and never left his side through the whole piece.  Jack Barratt as Dodger did really well with the tricky role of Dodger and his cheekiness fit the role perfectly.  I would like to mention Flynn Baistow as Charlie Bates, his energy was captivating and his performance a joy to watch, often picking up the unspoken comedy in the gang, great job.

The production team have outdone themselves with a stunning rendition of this firm family favourite.  Well done to Lorna Cookson for both the Direction and Choreography, not easy on a big show like this.  Ably assisted by Mark Howard and Cheryl Nicholls both as Associate Directors.  Charles Moss had perfect control of his large live band and the audience loved the music from the first note to the play out.  I found the music a joy to listen to, thank you.  The technical aspects of the production were handled very well and delivered as a slick and professional addition to the performances.  The set and costume were all fitting to the show and had clearly been thought about long and hard.

Overall, I was very impressed with the showing of this popular musical and Preston Musical Comedy Society, never one to back down from a challenge, certainly rose to the challenge this time and delivered well and above expected levels in all aspects of the production.  Well Done!

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