Oliver!

Having four entrances into the playing area, The Mart Theatre was an ideal venue for this lively production, which was so brilliantly directed by Craig Cowdroy.  All the action took place in front of the backcloth which concealed Cathy Sweet's excellent orchestra which always complimented the performers rather than overpowering them.

This show always pleases with well-known tunes, familiar characters and plenty of scope to use children.  Whilst not always keeping with tradition, a mix of girls and boys made up Fagin’s Gang and a female Dodger (Ruth Garrett) worked really well.

This whole production moved along with such pace and passion which showed that the whole Company were determined to put on a superb performance.  And they did!

Every single member of the cast were great “characters” and created the chapters of the story as we followed Oliver from Workhouse, to Undertakers, to Fagin’s Den and finally onto the Brownlow household, reminiscent of the serialisation of the original publication of this Dickens’ classic.

In the title role of Oliver Twist was Benny Hick, and he gave a breathtaking performance.  His diction was so clear, and he had a beautiful singing voice.  His performance of “Where is Love” was so moving.

Fagin (Dale Chadwick) gave a brilliant performance and he developed a great relationship with his gang.

Nancy’s (Helen Procter) rendition of 'As Long As He Needs Me', showed passion and understanding of the number. 

All principle characters were excellently played and there was humour in abundance from Mr Bumble (Ray Waters) and Widow Corney (Helen-Louise Taylor). I particularly liked the Undertakers Parlour scene where Mr and Mrs Sowerberry (superbly played by Colm Ferry and Chrissee Platt) really brought out the humour of the whole piece, and we moved through the scene at such a swift pace – it was perfectly executed with the help of Charlotte (Annie Bishop) and Noah Claypole (Will Blackie).

Bill Sykes (Steve Charlton) was played in a menacing way (why does Nancy fall for him?), but his diction was so clear it was a joy to hear his every word.

The continuous run was very slick with excellent nonstop scene changes (all carried out by the cast), integral to the action.  This was a seamless entertainment of music, action, and dance without any stops in the story line.

Congratulations to everyone involved.
 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.