Thursday Theatre Thoughts: Oliver!

Well hello again my lovely theatre lot! Your favourite blogger is back and that is yours truly. Today I am talking all about one of my favourites, the classic- Oliver! So buckle in and consider yourself part of the furniture for this weeks "Thursday Theatre Thoughts".

I love Oliver; it's a classic, a musical that will never get old, timeless. It has some important messages; perseverance, hope and how to be kind. It sheds awareness on domestic violence and the poor conditions of the Victorian lower class people. All through a joyous (but underneath dark) story that is full of song and dance.

I have been able to watch Oliver on the westend twice with the new revival and once at the Regent Theatre with my sister starring in it! Its phenomenal live. The staging/set is immense and the music and performance is captivating. The group of children that carry the story are worthy of mention as they are expressionate and sell their stories of workhouse children and Fagin's criminal gang very well indeed (a job I would have loved as a child- could you imagine!).

Oliver's songs are so catchy and offer a wide variety of genre in musical theatre from ballads, to narrative songs, to group songs, comedic songs and more. It has some of the most well known songs in musical theatre such as Nancy's infamous "As Long As He Needs Me" and "Oom-Pah-Pah" to Fagin's "You've Got To Pick A Pocket or Two", Oliver's "Where is Love?" and of course "Consider Yourself".

The ensemble in Oliver is beautifully harmonised and is integral to the plot and also the songs impact. The Artful Dodger and Fagin are a great combo of an unlikely friendship within the story. Fagin is an absolute classic of a character- you cannot help but love him with his comedic wit and loving nature within. You feel sorry for him which is an odd feeling considering his criminal background. That's what makes a good musical- Lionel Bart makes complex characters that have many different layers of personality. This allows the audience to question themselves about how they are feeling towards a certain character and think about the characters more deeply. Such as at the end when Fagin is left with nothing but we feel deep sorrow for him even though he is a criminal.

I cannot not mention one of the best female musical characters- Nancy. Her compassion is idealistic and her beauty beyond compare (both within and out). Mirrored to that is the evil and frightening Bill Sikes which is a particularly hard role to play. You have to ensure, as the actor, that the hatred the audience feels towards you is real to allow the fatal ending to be so impactful.

The only downside, in my opinion, to this phenomenal musical is the somewhat implausible plot of Oliver finding his grandad again and living a middle classed lifestyle after he runs away from his workhouse life. I won't spoil too much (incase you haven't watched it) but it is very hard to believe as an audience member. But maybe this is what Dickens, as the playwright of the original story Oliver Twist, was aiming for, to allow hope into the Victorian audiences.

I am sure this will make you want to either revisit the incredible soundtrack of Oliver, watch it for the first time in the movie or maybe even book to watch it in westend. Either one would be a perfectly marvellous idea.

That is enough of me jabbering on but don't worry I will be back soon! Pardon the pun. I hope you enjoyed. See you soon.