Oliver! Review

Oliver!

(UK Tour - The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton)

My summer holiday starts with the touring production of Oliver. My overall experience of the musical consists of the film and an amateur production. I personally struggle with Charles Dickens' literary style, I do appreciate his novels though. I was hesitant of going out of my way to see the musical when it was in London. I do however like the songs and now had the opportunity to see the musical on tour.

The director for this production is a particular favourite of Cameron Mackintosh, Laurence Connor. He had directed both The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables 25th anniversary concerts. He also directed the Les Miserables and Miss Saigon tour, and currently the Phantom tour. In all three cases he has drastically altered the scale of the musicals, and their iconic scenes, so they could fit in multiple theatres. For this musical however, it appears that he has maintained much of scale of the London production.

With a large cast a lot of the songs were performed wonderfully. My biggest disappointment though was the song that I was most looking forward to, Consider Yourself. It may be the largest song but it did feel crowded, and the Mayflower Theatre is no Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The first quarter of the song with the children was great, but it felt as if the whole cast was on during the rest of the song. My attention was drawn away from the mass of people on stage to the moving set pieces in the background most of the time, which seemed to have a character of its own. Fewer ensemble members onstage would have been better or alternatively choreographer should have brought on everyone gradually. Finally I did feel that the choice of costumes fore the song looked at bit bland. More variety in color would have made the cast members stand out more.

Generally the cast was very good. I do not think much of "Where is Love" yet the boy who played Oliver, Sebastian Croft, was heart-warming when he sang the song. The Artful Dodger was cheeky as ever, Fagin's gang was such a joy to watch, and Iain Fletcher was a very menacing Bill Sikes. It is the first time I have seen Brian Conley since he played Buttons in the Cinderella pantomime at the Mayflower, and his deep tone of voice is still noticeable. This made him sound less eccentric than other Fagins I have heard, but he does sing well. However, he does not bring a lot of comedic moments to the production. Most of the gags during Reviewing the Situation were produced by the visuals and orchestra. Yet both he and Cat Simmons seemed to improve by the second act. Cat Simmons was a passable Nancy, though I hear that Nancy is more an acting than singing role. It did seem to be the case when looking at Samantha Bark's performance in the trailer before she left the tour (good luck to her on the Les Miserables movie). Yet, apart from the occasional hand gesture, Cat Simmons stood still a lot of the time during the song As Long as He Needs Me.

For a touring production the sets for Oliver looked very layered. From what I could tell, most of it looked similar to the London production. There were a number of levels for the actors to stand on including two platforms at either end of the stage and a bridge that is lowered at times. As I mentioned the set in the background during Consider Yourself was the highlight of the song, as flats showing the buildings of London move in and out of view. It is as if you were walking down the streets of  London with the characters. Strangely, although the costumes worn during Consider Yourself were bland, elsewhere in the musical the costumes had a touch of variety. Who will Buy would have to be the best ensemble piece of the production for this very reason, including the sellers, entertainers and children in uniformed clothing.

This production was very good overall. Although Brian Conley and Cat Simmons were not the best Fagin and Nancy I have ever seen, the rest of the cast were in top form. Despite certain disappointments, I was very impressed by the diverse amount of scenery that was used. I will not be hurrying back to see the musical in the near future, but it is worth seeing at a Bargain.