Oliver
Information
- Date
- 4th January 2020
- Society
- The CTC
- Venue
- The Apex Theatre, Bury St Edmunds
- Type of Production
- Musical
- Director & Musical Staging
- Bridie Horne
- Musical Director
- Jade Tournay-Godfrey
- Choreographers
- Heidi Fox, Saffron Hewitt, & Leanda Shelton
- Assistant Director
- Madeleine Mears
Oliver is always a good family crowd puller and this was certainly true, with full houses through the New Year up to 4th January. The audiences were exceptionally well entertained by these young people. The show was a collaboration with both junior and senior performers from The CTC, ranging in age from 5 – 21 years of age and with a cast of over 60. It was clearly evident that they all worked together so well and were so supportive of each other.
The show opened with the workhouse children, in a well choreographed ‘Food, Glorious Food’ and with Oliver, played by the 10 year old Lloyd Sayles, emerging from the ensemble. He was excellent in his portrayal, from the sad little boy singing ‘Where is Love’ to the energy of charging around in the Funeral Parlour scene. Wilfred Kemsley played Mr Bumble, not an easy part to play for a young person, but he did well and gave a strong performance of ‘Boy for Sale’. Jack Moxon’s characterisation of a slightly creepy Mr Sowerberry was convincing and thought provoking. Matt Gilchrist was an excellent Fagin, both in his singing and acting and kept up a good accent throughout. Saffron Hewitt was outstanding as Nancy, with her excellent version of ‘As Long As He Need Me’. Rowan Murphy, again excellent as the cheeky Artful Dodger. Indeed it was all so well cast with many outstanding performances and absolutely no weaknesses. All the cast must take great credit for this.
‘Consider Yourself’ and ‘Who Will Buy’ are two of the big numbers which were sung and choreographed superbly. With such a large number of cast onstage together, all acting out their individual characters, whilst moving around stage and your eye was constantly being drawn from one group to another, all working together seamlessly. It was very cleverly choreographed. The standard of singing and dancing was exceptional . The large orchestra under the leadership of Jade Tourney-Godfrey was excellent and were kept well on their toes, allowing Fagin to rule the tempo of his song and holding the long notes in ‘ Reviewing The Situation’.
The set, which had been constructed in-house gave just the right feel of the Victorian setting on different levels, enhanced by some very good lighting effects. The costumes by Susan Rowe, were also were just right, including the delightful ABC dresses for the little school children.
Bridie’s passion and dedication for working with these young people was clearly evident. She should feel thoroughly proud of her achievements and that of all her cast and crew.
We will certainly look forward to more productions, in the coming year.
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