Oliver!

Lionel Bart’s Oliver! might just be the most well-loved British musical of all time, and for good reason: it’s got it all, from a bit of a mystery, lots of children, a battle of good against evil, cracking songs, love gone wrong, and to a (mostly) happy ending.  Set amongst the harsh and poverty stricken backdrop of Victorian London, the award winning score features many well-loved songs such as 'Consider Yourself", "Where is Love' and 'As Long as He Needs Me’.

The set was excellent and it was nice to have time to take in the setting on an open stage as the auditorium filled. High up was a ‘bridge’ with a long steep staircase either side between which at stage level, double gate-like doors looked splendid.  In operation though both the double doors and the steep stairs presented difficulties. The doors in a couple of interior scenes swung open. Opportunities for cast members to close them were ignored which I personally found irritating.  The stairs, put to good use throughout, gave rise to slow entrances and exits which affected the overall pace somewhat.  Costumes were very good but I think the workhouse children looked rather clean, certainly not as grubby as they could or would have been and, I’m sorry, but I was extremely distracted by the strange wigs one or two of the youngsters were wearing.  The lighting design was interesting but (and I may be wrong here) I think cues may well have got out of sync a couple of times during the Wednesday night performance as there appeared to be much flashing on and off creating some dark areas. 

Director Debbie Marks also choreographed the show and handed the cast simple yet effective choreography which they executed extremely well creating nice groupings in the big chorus numbers. Musical Director Nicholas Sheehan had ensured the cast produced some quality vocals.  The Ensemble work was first rate particularly the sellers in ‘Who Will Buy’. The excellent orchestra too added to the overall fine standard of the production. 

The youngest members of the cast acquitted themselves well both as the workhouse orphans and as Fagin’s gang. From the opening number “Food Glorious Food” we saw some confident and disciplined performances. 

The role of Oliver was shared by Darcey Dutton and Sophie Goodchild and that of Dodger by Hector Duckworth-Smith and Josh Wilkinson.  At the Wednesday performance Darcey Dutton took on the role of Oliver.  A talented young actor, epitomising everyone’s vision of Oliver Twist, with good stage presence and a very fine voice. Hector Duckworth-Smith was self assured, cheeky and convincing as the Artful Dodger. He has natural stage presence and strong performance skills which were very much in evidence as he swaggered about the stage.  

Sam Perren’s Mr Bumble was everyone’s idea of this character in all its aspects. ‘Boy for Sale’ was superb and he made the most of the humorous scene with Widow Corney, played by Helen Stewart, who was also in excellent voice.    

I think more could have been made of the scene in the undertakers which has the potential to be quite funny and frenetic. However Philip Cockell as Mr Sowerberry and Holly Wright as Mrs Sowerberry were both good, maliciously delivering the macabre yet amusing ‘It’s Your Funeral’ which always goes down well. There were two very nice cameos in this scene from Luke Morrison as Noah Claypole and Jessica Cleverdon as Charlotte, small roles but extremely well done. 

Chris Hempenstall put his own stamp on the much coveted role of Fagin, delivering a most effective representation of this somewhat ‘fatherly’ villain.  In fact I heard him deliver some dialogue I have never heard from Fagin before! He has a good singing voice and his rendition of ‘Reviewing The Situation’ was great.

An excellent performance came from Leanne Barber as a feisty Nancy. Beautiful voice and considerable acting talent.  Her emotional rendition of ‘As Long as He Needs Me' was greeted with loud and sustained applause, which it fully deserved.

The role of Bill Sikes played by Adam Stewart is surprisingly small: he does not usually appear until Act Two although the Director had him make a brief appearance in Act 1 with some stolen goods. Although pretty menacing I don’t think he quite pulled off the threatening ‘My Name’.  

There was good support for the main principals too from Nicholas Metcalfe (Dr Grimwig), Hugh Weller-Poley (Mr Brownlow), Viv Morris (Mrs Bedwin) and Edith Stewart (Bet).

I have seen this show many times but it is impossible to tire of it. Virtually every song in the show is a well known hit. In fact this show has something for everyone. Congratulations to BSEODS, Director Debbie Marks and everyone involved, it was a lovely evening.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.