Review: Oliver! 2010

"The best production I've seen in 30 years" Mr. Ward

It was Lionel Bart, in the 1960s, who decided to translate one of Charles Dickens' most scathingly satirical books into a stage musical (and then a major film). It softened the lengthy and often conveluted plot from the book and gave it an overall more optimistic spin, while retaining enough of the orignal satire to encourage a morbid feel. Oliver is a story of corruption and innocence, taking centre-stage in the depths of the London Underworld. Perfect, then, for a school production.
     This year saw a large number of Year 10s come to the front, most of whom especially were excellent character actors - injecting some much-needed realism into preceedings. The Sixth Form filled in the other gaps, as last year, but this year they were generally stronger. The chorus this year were still as distracted and juvenile as one can expect when attempting serious drama, but there were some strong players that really knocked it up a notch and the energy on the stage was simply amazing. This was no doubt helped by the two Sixth Form choreorgraphers, Laurens Power and Haigh.
     The director this year was Mrs. MacFarlane, assisted by Miss. Urwin, and they took a different approach then previous years due to the less aesthetic nature of the production - Grease got it's points across (the few it actually had) using song and dance, while Oliver! is a bit more cerebral.
     As expected in a school production, the cast brought their own eccentricities to the fore to make their characters more interesting. The almost obligatory "Panto Dame" was Old Sally, played by a disgruntled (but clearly very brave) Year 10. Irregularities in the scripts provided also gave birth to entirely new characters with their own histories and characteristics (e.g. Reg the Undertaker, who was invented when a cast member was needed to bring on a coffin).
     Much credit must also be given to the other aspects of the show. The backdrop this year took on a more consistent style in the form of a London street, in contrast to the gaudy tableaus of previous years. Costumes were a great challenge, but Miss Ainscow managed to bring along an outstanding array of outfits for all of the characters - the most notable being Nancy's stunning red dress, Fagin's hat and wig, and Sikes' imposing green coat. Finally, the music was spot on and well-worked by Mr. Jones and his Year 11 assistant Stephen Scott.
     Now all is said and done, I'd like to thank everyone involved in the production and especially everyone who paid to come and see it. As a cast member, I had a lot of fun and I sincerely hope the audience did too.

Thanks.

P.S. My reviews of Misfits 2.6 and Life On Mars 1.7/1.8 will be up later today, Sunday at the latest. Also, this week will have no Super Sunday, like last week.