Oliver!

This was a stunning production by WOW which exceeded expectations across the board and which delivered the ‘wow’ factor from start to finish and across all areas: singing, acting, choreography, musical direction, orchestra performance, set, costume and lighting. Although a youth group production, the standards were easily those of an adult group, and in many aspects those of a professional group. As well as being visually stunning with first class sets, props, costume, lighting and smoke effects evoking vividly the atmosphere of Dickensian London, it told the story superbly, with perfect pacing, and was packed full of emotion, pathos, humour and joie-de-vivre.

The orchestra was superb, and it is a challenging libretto. The stage crew deftly moved the stunning sets around with maximum efficiency, including the lowering and raising of a washing line with clothes for Fagin’s lair, and the choreography was spot-on for the context and characters; energetic, entertaining and moving.

The chorus brought to life the children in the workhouse, Fagin’s gang, and the crowds on the streets of East End London. They acted, sang, moved and danced in complete unison but had also developed their own individual characters. Indeed, there was top quality acting and singing across the board with brilliant interpretations brought out by the Director and Musical Director and realised by the cast. Harmony singing and duets were lovely, everyone worked together and understood their roles and their place in the action.

Mr Bumble and Mrs Corney made a great couple, providing a great deal of humour and light relief, and with impressively good northern accents. Their duet singing was a joy and Mr Bumble really carried off the solo song Boy For Sale, which is not an easy song to sing. All three Sowerberrys were delightful, with Mr and Mrs Sowerberry producing another strong and humorous double-act. Their song That’s Your Funeral was very impressive and Mr Sowerberry managed to sing it with a wonderfully gravelly voice throughout, which must have involved endurance as well as talent. The actor also produced a very clever pratfall and, in addition, played with accomplishment a ‘cockney’ part in the Oom-Pah-Pah scene, and Mr Grimwig.

The actor playing The Artful Dodger delivered a wonderfully surly performance and added a huge ‘oomph’ with a striking performance that really kicked in big-time with the song Consider Yourself. This was one of the high points of the show, as The Artful Dodger led the energy which was picked up by the chorus of Fagin’s crew and an ensemble of colourful characters who joined in on the number.

The title role of Oliver is a challenging one because the character is written almost as a demonstration of just sweetness and a certain naivety. The actor met the challenge full-on and superbly, giving light and shade and delivering masses of emotion in the song Where is Love, with an amazing sustain on the final ‘love’, and portraying a sort of puppy-like adoration in I’d Do Anything For You.

Mr Brownlow was played very effectively in a low key, understated way; a strong actor with stage presence as was Mrs Bedwin, who sang the reprise of Where Is Love exceptionally well, with great poignancy and emotion.

Bill Sikes exuded genuine menace and was mesmerising. This is a challenging role for a young person, to capture a sense of adult evil in a believable way, and the actor achieved this, maintaining a threatening low voice throughout – congratulations to the actor. His song My Name is Bill was particularly striking - dark and dangerous. Nancy’s friend Bet was also very strong in both acting and singing, and sang It’s A Fine Life, along with Nancy, with confidence and aplomb.

Utterly brilliant and very powerful indeed were the performances of Nancy and Fagin. They were astonishing - mature and professional. Nancy’s putting on a brave face after being hit by Sikes is just one example of that quality and strength. The character and the emotion shone through in both acting and singing (especially in As Long As He Needs Me) and there was subtlety and depth; as when she defended Oliver against the world of Sikes and Fagin, or when she was talking with Mr Brownlow and Mrs Bedwin. Fagin was simply stunning in every element, whether speaking, singing or moving and dancing. Reviewing The Situation was a barnstorming tour de force which perfectly portrayed the combination of fear and chutzpah and which received a truly massive and thoroughly deserved round of applause from the audience. Bravo.

All of the characters were brought to life by the performers with skill, creativity and energy and the singing was a crucial part of this, just as it was vital to the telling of the story. There was a faithfulness to Dickens and a clever blend of subtlety and the appropriate level of caricature. Lovely touches throughout, such as members of Fagin’s gang sitting around playing a version of ‘scissors, paper, stone’, added to the enjoyment and the realisation of character and setting. Even the pre-show instruction to the audience about switching off mobile phones was delivered in a humorous short speech in character by Fagin.

Above all, it was a brilliant ensemble piece, thoroughly entertaining and excellent in every way. Congratulations to everyone.

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