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Review by Daniel Barnett
This spectacular show arrives back in London after a 15-year rest, with a stunning production and actors whose talent leaves you adoring every moment of this wonderful, classic musical.
Who doesn’t know the story behind Lionel Bart’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel? Surprisingly posh workhouse orphan Oliver Twist is sold to an undertaker, where he is bullied until he flees to London. He meets up with a gang of likeable cockney pickpockets, led by Fagin and the Artful Dodger, but is mistakenly arrested by a wealthy benefactor who turns out to be… well, the plot gets a bit implausible here, but nothing can spoil this show.
This show is all about the music. Soaring ballads such as ‘As Long as He Needs Me’, ‘It’s a Fine Life’ and ‘Where is Love?’. Brilliant comedy pieces, including ‘Oom Pah Pah’ and ‘You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two’. There’s not a single fail in the entire repertoire.
I’ve never liked previous incarnations. I’ve seen several amateur productions, the 2004 production with Jonathan Pryce, and the 2009 production with both Rowan Atkinson and Omid Djalili (remember the casting of Nancy, on the BBC talent show I’d Do Anything? That was for this). They left me cold, perhaps because I knew the film so well and little could compare. But this production pulls it off. It’s genuinely better than the film.
Simon Lipkin, as Fagin, oscillates between a tragic, complex character determined to protect those around him, mediate internal disputes and take care for his friends’ futures, to a comedic parody invoking obvious tropes, but in such a camp way he avoids offence. He dominates the stage and rightly received enormous applause after each of his big numbers.
Shanah Holmes shines as Nancy. Her vocals are out of this world. Billie Jenkins is a hugely charismatic and talented Artful Dodger, swaggering around the stage like Charlie Stemp on steroids. The Olivers rotate; Cian Eagle-Service demonstrated vulnerability, timidity, integrity and a beautiful singing voice in a first-rate performance. It was impossible not to be drawn to him as a young child in need of protection. Mr and Mrs Sowerberry, the undertakers, were a cross between Riff-Raff and that woman from American Gothic. And Mr Bumble and his sidekick, Mrs Corney, were hilarious. In a lovely nod to the show’s history, Mrs Corney was played by Katy Secombe, whose father Harry Secombe played Mr Bumble in the film.
It’s not just the book, the score, and the acting that makes Oliver! a stand-out success. It’s directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, the famous ballet director. The stage regularly explodes into action as the huge cast takes on massive numbers like ‘Consider Yourself’, with the pulsating energy of Victorian slums emerging from an empty set with incredibly slick rapidity.
Oh, and then there’s Bill Sykes. Played by Aaron Sidwell, he is menacing, violent and sinister. Not in a pantomime way – he is genuinely threatening. From kicking Bullseye, his dog, to beating women and throttling Nancy to death, his descent into madness is a masterclass of acting.
See the show. You’ll love it. And if Oliver! doesn’t run for years, I’ll eat my head.
Daniel Barnett practises from Outer Temple Chambers and presents the legal hour on LBC radio.
This spectacular show arrives back in London after a 15-year rest, with a stunning production and actors whose talent leaves you adoring every moment of this wonderful, classic musical.
Who doesn’t know the story behind Lionel Bart’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel? Surprisingly posh workhouse orphan Oliver Twist is sold to an undertaker, where he is bullied until he flees to London. He meets up with a gang of likeable cockney pickpockets, led by Fagin and the Artful Dodger, but is mistakenly arrested by a wealthy benefactor who turns out to be… well, the plot gets a bit implausible here, but nothing can spoil this show.
This show is all about the music. Soaring ballads such as ‘As Long as He Needs Me’, ‘It’s a Fine Life’ and ‘Where is Love?’. Brilliant comedy pieces, including ‘Oom Pah Pah’ and ‘You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two’. There’s not a single fail in the entire repertoire.
I’ve never liked previous incarnations. I’ve seen several amateur productions, the 2004 production with Jonathan Pryce, and the 2009 production with both Rowan Atkinson and Omid Djalili (remember the casting of Nancy, on the BBC talent show I’d Do Anything? That was for this). They left me cold, perhaps because I knew the film so well and little could compare. But this production pulls it off. It’s genuinely better than the film.
Simon Lipkin, as Fagin, oscillates between a tragic, complex character determined to protect those around him, mediate internal disputes and take care for his friends’ futures, to a comedic parody invoking obvious tropes, but in such a camp way he avoids offence. He dominates the stage and rightly received enormous applause after each of his big numbers.
Shanah Holmes shines as Nancy. Her vocals are out of this world. Billie Jenkins is a hugely charismatic and talented Artful Dodger, swaggering around the stage like Charlie Stemp on steroids. The Olivers rotate; Cian Eagle-Service demonstrated vulnerability, timidity, integrity and a beautiful singing voice in a first-rate performance. It was impossible not to be drawn to him as a young child in need of protection. Mr and Mrs Sowerberry, the undertakers, were a cross between Riff-Raff and that woman from American Gothic. And Mr Bumble and his sidekick, Mrs Corney, were hilarious. In a lovely nod to the show’s history, Mrs Corney was played by Katy Secombe, whose father Harry Secombe played Mr Bumble in the film.
It’s not just the book, the score, and the acting that makes Oliver! a stand-out success. It’s directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, the famous ballet director. The stage regularly explodes into action as the huge cast takes on massive numbers like ‘Consider Yourself’, with the pulsating energy of Victorian slums emerging from an empty set with incredibly slick rapidity.
Oh, and then there’s Bill Sykes. Played by Aaron Sidwell, he is menacing, violent and sinister. Not in a pantomime way – he is genuinely threatening. From kicking Bullseye, his dog, to beating women and throttling Nancy to death, his descent into madness is a masterclass of acting.
See the show. You’ll love it. And if Oliver! doesn’t run for years, I’ll eat my head.
Review by Daniel Barnett
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