Oliver Jr

Oliver Jr... a musical, staged/performed by the students from Outwood Academy, Haydock on Thursday, 11th December 2025 at Outwood Academy, Clipsley Lane, Haydock, St. Helens.

Bringing Charles Dickens’ beloved novel to life, Lionel Bart’s Oliver, takes audiences on this wild adventure through Victorian England. Join young, orphaned Oliver Twist as he navigates the London’s underworld of theft and violence, searching for a home, a family, and - most importantly - for love! When Oliver is picked up from the street by a boy named the Dodger, he is welcomed into a gang of child pickpockets led by the conniving, but charismatic, Fagin.  When Oliver is falsely accused of a theft he didn’t commit, he is rescued by a kind and wealthy gentleman, much to the dismay of Fagin’s violent sidekick, Bill Sikes. Caught in the middle of all this is the warm-hearted Nancy, who’s trapped under Bill’s thumb, but is desperate to help Oliver, which ends with tragic results.  Laced with spirited, timeless songs “As Long as He Needs Me,” “Food, Glorious Food,” and “Where Is Love”, Oliver is a classic!

Production Team ... tasked with bringing this ‘classic’ to stage was the ever-impressive Nicole Fagan (Director/Musical Director/Choreographer). Outwood’s staging area isn’t the largest space to stage a full musical, especially when you have an enthusiastic cast of fifty-five young people all wanting to give of their best.... this is when ‘direction’ is ever so important! Every inch of space was used, even the balcony and the foot walks in an around the stage were maximised to their fullest, providing a sparkling production which was appreciated by all those present. Be very proud Nicole, great job! 

The Cast... because of the large number of cast members, I’m going to identify the principal cast using their full names, but the ensemble members will be named by just their first names... Lailah Topping took the lead role of ‘Oliver’ (shared role with Kieran Nightingale); Annie Stocks played ‘Dodger’ (shared role with Liana Oliver), Nieve Corkish played ‘Fagin’, Lucy Baldwin played ‘Nancy’, Jasmine Watkinson played ‘Bill Sikes’, Carlotte Pennington played ‘Bet’,  Mathew Johnson - ‘Mr Bumble’, Lorelai Bond - ‘Widow Corney’, Scarlett Shaw – ‘Mrs Sowerberry’, Finlay Dockerty - ‘Mr Brownlow’,  Anna Dixon – ‘Mrs Bedwin’, Keeley Eccleston – Dr Grimwig, Evelyn Howell-Young - ‘Old Sally’, Max Grice – Noah/Ensemble; Villa Sandor & Maria Tinsley ‘Charlotte/Ensemble’ (shared) Fagin’s Gang included Kira, Emily, Lissy, Olivia, Matthew, Caris, Ellie, Phoebe, Fearne, Holly, Bella, Isla, Scarlett, Riley, Alby, Max and Albie.
Older Ensemble... Zekra, Olivia, Kiane, Nevaeh, Myah, Nina, Emily, Lily, Phoebe, Pearl, Elizabeth, Charlotte.
Nancy’s Girl Gang ... Morgan, Gabriella, Mya and Eva
‘Who Will Buy’ – soloists: Eleanor, Willow, Lexi and Evelyn

When the energy and enthusiasm emanating from every cast member is tangible, it’s difficult to start suggesting that someone was better than someone else without perhaps doing an injustice to some but, after saying that, I really do feel it would remiss off me not to give a few ‘shout outs’... I am going to identify MY showstealer, plus a number of MY favourite characters ... these are my choices, you may well have your own, but these are mine...  MY ‘Show Stealer’ had to be Nieve Corkish and her portrayal of the infamous ‘Fagin’.  Nieve just took this role, put her own ‘stamp on it’ and ‘knocked it out the park’... sing, dance, act... a ‘total triple threat’!  Nieve is blessed with great stage presence, great diction and a nice singing voice. It’s never easy playing an ‘older person’ in a youth production, when most, if not all cast members, are of the same age... but that never seemed an issue for Nieve ... from first entrance to last, it was all about effort, energy and enthusiasm whilst creating this great character! Nieve left nothing on that stage... be very proud!  MY three favourite characters are... Lailah Topping’s – ‘Oliver’, Annie Stocks – ‘Dodger’ and Lucy Baldwin’s – ‘Nancy’.  Lailah’s portrayal of the innocent lad ‘Oliver’, was ‘spot on’. Confident, assured, another with great diction and a lovely singing voice, her rendition of ‘Where is Love’ was just right! Lailah worked well with all cast members but, in particular with ‘Dodger’. These two had good chemistry and all their scenes together were well acted and believable. Annie Stocks was well cast as the ‘Artful Dodger’, a ‘quirky’, ‘happy go lucky’, full of energy character who was also able to provide the flair and swagger needed to create this natural leader of Fagin’s gang!  Well done both of you... two great characters created. Last but certainly not least... Lucy Baldwin gave us a wonderful portrayal of ‘Nancy’, one of the most challenging yet rewarding roles in musical theatre. Assured, confident, Lucy played this role with great aplomb and was able to show us the two sides of ‘Nancy’ that make this role believable ... the tough, resourceful side and the deeply compassionate side!  Her relationship with ‘Oliver’ was totally believable... her rendition of ‘Oom-Pah-Pah’ and the iconic ‘As Long as he needs me’ were sung to perfection ... well done Lucy, be ever so proud! Before I end this section, can I just make a ‘special mention’ of the song ‘Who Will Buy’ and the four vendors Eleanor, Willow, Lexi and Evelyn … not sure who played which of the following - ‘Flower Seller’, ‘Strawberry Seller’, ‘Milk Maid’ and ‘Knife Sharpener’ roles, but I thought the song was wonderfully balanced, each character sang their individual part really well, again be very proud! Please be sure, that if I’ve not mentioned you directly above, rest assured that you were all noticed... this truly was a great ‘team effort’ of a show!

Stage/Set/Tech... we were greeted with an ‘open set’ which I just loved, and which was used throughout the production!  The set offered all the exits and entries points required, whilst creating a perfect back drop for the entire evening.  Steps, either side, accessed the bridge, used as an upper level, which again was used to good effect throughout. We had a ‘fireplace’ type piece of street furniture, rolled on off, that created Fagin’s Den all hired from Proscenium Set Hire in Littleborough.  Lighting and Sound was good, under the watchful eye of Ebony Mullett and Annabelle McClymont (Lighting) and Nathan Higham (Sound). If I can be slightly fussy ... the haze, smoke which was used to create atmosphere and to enhance the lighting, did on a couple of occasions, create problems, especially during Nancy’s rendition of ‘As long as he needs Me’.  During the song, far too much haze was used, the results almost obliterating Nancy from view! I understand the benefits... but sometimes the negatives can far out way the benefits, something to bear in mind for future productions!    

Costumes ... were fabulous! Hired from Northern Costume Hire. They added so much to the visual part of this production. Congrats to Mrs Newton and the ‘textile team’ for their work with these wonderful costumes.

There was NO DOUBT that EVERYONE on that stage had had the time of their young lives and I really do think the reason for that was far more than just them performing! As said previously, this was very much a ‘team effort’... the comradery, the togetherness, the pride as well as their enjoyment in what they’d achieved was there for all to see, especially ‘after the show’ when the cast gathered on stage!  Well done to all involved!

Thank you so much for the invite... loved the show, look forward to seeing you all again very soon!

Stay Safe – Keep Well
Stronger together

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW – District 6 Rep

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