ajhlovestheatre

OLIVER!

book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart

freely adapted from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

directed by Matthew Bourne; co-directed by Jean-Pierre Van Der Spuy 

Gielgud Theatre, London – open-ended run

running time: 2 hours 40 minutes including interval 

https://oliverthemusical.com

Bigger isn’t always better, and theatrically nowhere is that more persuasively demonstrated than by Cameron Mackintosh’s latest production of the Lionel Bart musical classic which has enjoyed a West End outing in almost every decade since it premiered in 1960. In this current iteration, Oliver! is looking more vital and thrilling than countless other tuners a fraction of its age and twice its size.

The last two West End versions, both produced by Mackintosh, played the Palladium and Drury Lane, 2000+ seat venues with vast stages, and were epic stagings. In Sam Mendes’ vision for those larger spaces, St Paul’s Cathedral soared up to the flies, a sailing junk passed along the Thames at the back of the Three Cripples Inn where Nancy performed and wassailed, Fagin’s den emerged from beneath stage level as his band of pickpockets scampered down ladders and ramshackle staircases to reach it…all absolutely gorgeous but slightly losing the heart and charm in this most British of musicals.

Not that there’s a shortage of spectacle in Matthew Bourne’s entrancing, Hogarthian version, first seen at Chichester, and now into its second year at the midsized Gielgud Theatre. Indeed, the multiple revolves, descending gantries and Victorian street lamps of Lez Brotherston’s ingenious scenic design sometimes look like an homage to Sean Kenny’s revolutionary unit set for the very first production, and also to John Napier’s barricades in the original RSC Les Misérables. Paule Constable’s gorgeous, malleable lighting is similarly reminiscent and effective.

But amongst the impressive visual and aural impact, there’s an attention to detail, a nuance to most of the characterisations, and a startling contrast between the joyful and horribly dark elements in Dickens’ original story, that render this Oliver! an entirely satisfying experience. Despite having worked on the earlier versions, Bourne treats this beloved staple of regional theatres and school stages as though it’s a completely new musical, and the result is fresh, dramatically alive and true, and, when it needs to be, genuinely dangerous.

Aaron Sidwell may be less physically imposing than most of his predecessors as the villainous Bill Sikes, but plays him convincingly as a vicious psychopath. His destructive love for Ava Brennan’s stunning Nancy is made explicit, and deeply alarming. Note the look of devastation that passes over the face of the Artful Dodger (brilliantly played by Aaron MacGregor not as the cheeky kid we’re used to, but rather as a frequently horny young chancer with a streak of ruthlessness) when Fagin suggests he’s a Sikes-in-the-making.

Brennan is fierce, sympathetic yet unsentimental and altogether wonderful, stopping the show cold (twice) with ‘As Long As He Needs Me’. At the performance I saw, Isaac Hackett (who alternates the title role with three other young actors) gives us a lovable yet spirited Oliver entirely capable of fighting the corner of his deceased mother, and of having the determination to get himself to London solo. 

The supporting characters come off particularly well in this more intimate production. Clarion-voiced Oscar Conlon-Morrey’s drunken Mr Bumble and Katy Secombe’s lachrymose Widow Corney, both smashing, lean hard into the Music Hall elements of Bart’s creation but never lose sight of the truth at the heart of their characters. On a side note, Secombe’s presence is a lovely connection to Carol Reed’s 1968 movie version, as her father, the much loved Harry Secombe, played Bumble on screen.

Jamie Birkett glitters and chills as the undertaker’s wife who clearly rules the feckless Soweberry (Stephen Matthews, excellent) with a rod of black iron, and is almost unrecognisable, but equally compelling, as the kind London house keeper who looks after Oliver later on. 

Simon Lipkin’s hilarious, heartfelt, dynamic Fagin is a masterclass of musical comedy performance, and one that would be worth the ticket price even if everything else wasn’t so good. More specifically Hebraic than his predecessors, he sidesteps the anti-semitism implicit in the Dickens by investing the character with a gratifying, magnetic authenticity that has the audience eating out of the palm of his be-ringed hands. His affectionate rapport with the team of well-drilled youngsters playing his gang of petty thieves is truly joyful, and his powerful delivery of the score and his maverick physicality are exhilarating. It’s a performance for the ages.

Bart’s score contains more gems than Fagin’s hidden box of treasures, a glorious swirling together of vaudeville, klezmer, hymnal, English Music Hall and sheer, marvellous tunefulness. Stephen Metcalfe’s adaption of William David Brohn’s earlier orchestrations ensures that each number hits home perfectly, and the ensemble singing is magnificent. Adam Fisher’s sound design, robust but not overwhelming, ensures every lyric and line is heard.

If you love Oliver!, seeing this is a no-brainer, but equally if you feel the show is over-familiar, then this production is likely to give you pause for thought. It explodes with a ripe theatricality and emotional punch that would be exciting in a superbly crafted new musical, but which, in a show dating back almost seventy years, feels almost miraculous. This is a great evening, and one that confirms Bart’s work as a genuine masterpiece. Consider yourself knocked out, in the very best way.