Oliver!

Arriving in plenty of time, I was ushered to my seat by the front of house team and settled in for the evening.

Oliver! is an oft-performed production with a split cast of both children and adults. This suits Spot On Productions well as Alick Leech (Director) has a great ability of producing shows to involve all age ranges together: commendable. The stage was well laid out and looked good with easy transformation from the Workhouse to the Sowerberrys Funeral parlour to Fagins den to Mr Brownlows house well, with very little down time between scenes which kept the continuity. This was commendably undertaken by a swift and skilled backstage crew and the cast themselves.

The lighting, although quite dim in places, gave atmosphere to what is a dark and ill-lit Victorian setting, close to real life in the late 1800s. The sound was generally good but in places we did lose some of the lines both sung and spoken.

The cast were strong with Noah Clayton-Hart playing the role of Oliver very well, clear diction and confident delivery and sang "Where Is Love?" beautifully. Fagin, played by the ever impressive Adam Rush, was a joy. Great mannerisms, good interaction with both the audience and backed up by a very good cast. Nancy (Holly Ind) was sassy with Connor Hanstock as Mr Bumble, Nico Bray as Dodger and Emma Harris as Widow Corney all playing their parts well.

The star of the show for me though was the fantastic choreography by Abbie Feltham. The rousing chorus numbers "Consider Yourself", "Its a Fine Life / I'd Do Anything" and "Oom Pah Pah" were so well drilled, but not at the expense of the chorus who were obviously enjoying themselves immensely, from the youngest to the oldest. They all knew where they should be and what they should be doing. I should also mention here the sixteen piece orchestra who, under the tutelage of MD Martin Bennetts, produced a brilliant sound. It really felt like they were having a great time, well done Martin.

My only criticism of the show is that in a few places the chorus were a little inaudible over the orchestra and that occasionally, and equally when Sykes and Nancy were arguing, I could not hear the dialogue clearly, shame.  The music and choreography though were of a very high standard, the best I have seen and heard from Spot On. The cast's enjoyment was infectious. Overall though this was a very good show, one I enjoyed very much - well done all. 

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