Oliver

Lionel Bart’s ‘Oliver’ brings Charles Dickens’ beloved novel ‘Oliver Twist’ to life and takes audiences on a wild adventure through Victorian England. I’m sure Dickens would never have imagined his novel, with its starving orphans, workhouses and murdering crooks, becoming one of the most popular musicals of all time. Bart puts music and dancing into this grim look at Victorian London....the results are amazing with some of the best songs ever written for musical theatre.

Having seen and been involved many, many times with this musical you always think, ‘here we go again’, but when ‘Pilkington Musical Theatre Company’ gets involved, that is never usually the case and when you see a cast list that names over 70 actors, including 31 children – mainly girls – a female ‘Dodger’ (on the night I attended), then you know you’re in for something slightly different!  Having said that and what was obvious from the first note to last, was that everyone of those 70 on stage were giving their all whilst having the time of their life -  what more can you ask!

The opening number, ‘Food Glorious Food’, set the tone for the night. It was sung and danced really well by the children’s chorus. If this musical is to be a success then the children’s chorus is a vital element. Not only is it essential for them to be good, but with 31 children involved it was essential that they were well organised, especially during the dance numbers. So a special mention to Anna Whittle for ‘manoeuvring’ this huge cast (children and adults alike) around that stage and although there were a few ‘masking’ issues, it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment at all... well done!

With such a huge cast it is difficult to start detailing individuals without doing injustice to others, but can I say from the outset, that every single cast member worked their socks off to create some believable characters.

The Principals as a whole were in good voice and character.......Dru Fitzgerald played ‘Mr Bumble’ the pompous, self important Beadle and Jean Aspinall played ‘Widow Corney’, the Matron of the Workhouse.  Both played their parts well, good characterisation and worked well together – ‘I Shall Scream’ was ‘milked’ for all it was worth... well done, you two!   Our ‘Undertakers’ – ‘Mr and Mrs Sowerberry’ were played well by Andrew Marsh and Ann Connolly respectively.  Again both worked well together and created two believable characters well done and I loved their rendition of ‘That’s Your Funeral’.  We also had ‘Noah Claypole’ (Apprentice Undertaker) and ‘Charlotte’ (Sowerberry’s Maid) played by Tyler Cowie and Emily Hargraves respectively, who both played their parts well.  John Dawson was a perfect fit for the role of ‘Mr Brownlow’ as was Teresa O’Brien who played the part of ‘Mrs Bedwin’...small cameo roles but effectively played ... congrats!  ‘Dr Grimwig’ was played by Rick Lawton and ‘Old Sally’ by Pauline Doyle.

The coveted female role of ‘Nancy’ was placed in the capable hands of Katie Speakman who did not fail to deliver! Katie looked so comfortable in this role, good characterisation, good diction and a great rendition of the classic ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ ... Katie showed the many sides of ‘Nancy’ ever so well... be proud!  Let’s not forget Nancy’s best friend ‘Bet’ played by Daisy Shuttleworth.  Daisy worked well with Nancy but was able to ‘stand alone’ and make the part her own. She also had a lovely singing voice... well done!

‘Bill Sykes’ our villain was played ‘powerfully’ by Scott Copeland.  I have it on ‘good authority’ that many of the cast were actually ‘scared’ of Scott ... which in this case was a good thing!  Scott had great stage presence, good diction and great mannerisms...his entrance, his song ‘My Name’ in ‘The Three Cripples’ and his altercations with Nancy were filled with ‘raw emotion’.  If I could be so bold as to offer one small piece of ‘constructive criticism’ - they say ‘The eyes are the window to the soul’ - they can tell you so much about what a person is thinking or feeling, so when Scott pulled his hat down, so the brim covered his eyes, and I knew why he did that, we lost so much of the angry, merciless, heartless character he was portraying. When placed slightly back with the eyes visible... the results were totally different....just something I felt and I hope I haven’t offended by offering this!  Oh... and let’s not forget Rodney or should I say ‘Bullseye’... another perfectly cast member!  

To ensure ‘Oliver’ is a success you need to have a good young man playing ‘the lead’ and in this production they had two young men sharing the role; the one I saw was Jamie Leahey. Jamie played the part very well. He was confident, looked the part, had great diction and interacted well with both adult and children cast members and for sure he captured the hearts of all the audience when he sang “Where is Love”.  (My colleague Pat Connor saw Alfie Fellows play the part of ‘Oliver’.  Alfie played the part well, he was confident and had great diction and he interacted really well with all other cast members... ‘Where is Love’ was sung very well). Not only did Pilkington MTC have two ‘Oliver’s’ they also had two ‘Dodgers’ and I had the pleasure of seeing a ‘young lady’, Jess Ratcliffe, play that part and ‘play it’ she did!  It is not often that you find a young lady playing this part, but Jess made the part her own and looked totally at ease. She was ‘confident’, had ‘great stage presence’ and her dancing and singing was ‘spot on’ ... well done young lady be ever so proud!  (My colleague Pat Connor saw Sam Thomas play the role of ‘Dodger’. Pat, thought Sam played the part very well, he was confident, had good diction with a good singing voice)

That leaves just ‘Fagin’ who was played by Harry Moore and who ‘stole the show’.  His performance was so well judged with just the right amount of comedy and pathos to command the stage. His songs were both vocally and visually brilliant and he just oozed stage presence. His mannerisms and facial expressions were fabulous and I mentioned ‘the eyes’ before, well I’m not sure who did Harry’s make-up, especially the eye make-up – but it so helped enhance his character.  His rendition and control of ‘Reviewing the Situation’ was awesome - well done sir...be proud!

So how does all that happen...well I would suggest that with a cast that size you need experienced people at the helm... so when you see names like Si Foster (Director), Jean Aspinall (Assistant Director), directing operations,  Anna Whittle (Choreographer) ‘constructing’ simple yet effective dance routines that suited and brought the best out of everyone on stage and Wayne Oakes (Musical Director) and his orchestra supporting actors, singers and dancers so well (PS: loved the solo violin in ‘Reviewing the Situation’ well done David Storey)... then you just know you are always in safe hands!

The scenery was ‘big’ and ‘fabulous’ and set just the right tone as did the set dressings.... congrats to Mike Randolph and his Back Stage Team for some slick scenes changes.  Lighting design added to the sombre mood that was Victorian London. We had one or two issues with the sound; not sure if Mrs Sowerberry’s ‘mic’ actually ‘drowned’ when Charlotte doused her with water, but the lapses didn’t detract that much from the overall production. Costumes were excellent and authentic, although some of the shoes and trousers worn by the orphans and Fagin’s Gang were a ‘little too posh and clean’ – ‘worn and scruffy’ would have been better.

Finally, thank you so much for inviting my wife and I and thank you for your hospitality. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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