Olivia!

This show by Malcolm Sircom – a female take on the Oliver Twist tale with references to Pygmalion, Sherlock Holmes and Gilbert and Sullivan – was the perfect vehicle for this enthusiastic group of 31 7 to 14 year olds. Filled with pathos and humour, plenty of principal and chorus singing and dancing (including a perfectly executed Irish Jig) it gave plenty of opportunity for the cast to display their talents. In the title role of Olivia, at the performance I attended, Abi Leslie was outstanding with good acting skills and a strong singing voice shown to it’s best in her solo “Happiness Somewhere”. Maisy MacKay as Olivia’s London mentor Eliza Doolittle was another young actor with strong acting and singing skills and her cockney accent and no-nonsense attitude added much to the comedy of the piece. The growing friendship between these two characters was truly believable and their duet “Suddenly/ I Want To Be A Lady” was a delight. Isaac Masson and Amelie Lot as Fagin and Dodger respectively were a lively comic pairing as shown in their number “Good Times”. Amelie’s rendition of “The Criminal’s Song” – the patter song in the G & S pastiche “Trial by Judge” – was a masterpiece. Katie Newlands as amnesiac flower seller Annie gave a strong performance and her rendition of “Who Am I?” was touching and her reunion with her long lost daughter, who turned out to be Olivia, brought tears to the eye when they sang together “If There’s A Star”. Strong support was given by Emilee Munro (Mrs Murdstone), Rebecca Shirran (Mrs Dilber), Devan Thornley (Dickens), Robert Dennison (George Bernard Shaw/Judge), Ben McClure (Holmes), Arran Duncan (Watson) and Rowan Moir (Dervla and alternate Olivia). The chorus of orphans, school girls and flower sellers, each of whom had been given a character, acted and sang well with their movement being step perfect especially in the “Charity Rag” and “The Irish Washer Woman” numbers. The 7 piece band under Musical Director Rob Fryer played the various styles of music well and were always sympathetic to the young voices. The set was simple but effective and good use was made of back projections especially in the Covent Garden scenes. Costumes, provided/made by the group’s own wardrobe team, were both appropriate to the characters and the era. Director Graham Wilson and everyone at Haddo Children’s Theatre are to be congratulated on bringing the almost full house audience an excellent evening’s entertainment.

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