REVIEW: Oliver!
WOW Youth Musical Theatre
Weymouth Pavilion
WOW Youth Musical Theatre’s young stars continue to impress Weymouth audiences in their latest show, Oliver!, directed and choreographed by Paul Madeley, and on stage at the Pavilion until Saturday, November 18.
The opening night saw a packed house and an appreciative audience who rewarded these performers’ hard work, stamina and talent with a standing ovation.
The story of Oliver Twist, the workhouse orphan who is adopted by Fagin and the Artful Dodger into a short-lived life of crime and is witness to terrible violence, is familiar to many through both Dickens’ novel of the same name and the 1968 film based on Lionel Bart’s stage musical, from which this production is freely adapted.
The tone of the show is set from the first moments; a smoky, dark atmospheric set greets the audience, music from the live orchestra is suitably moody and then WHAM! the show opens with the classic number Food Glorious Food, the ensemble cast belting out this well-known song whilst maintaining perfect timing throughout some clever choreography.
The performance standard is so high that it feels churlish not to mention each and every cast member by name but such is a reviewer’s lot.
Ollie Vaughan as the title character is both vulnerable and defiant, feisty in his determination to maintain his mother’s reputation.
He also happens to have the voice of an angel. Hollie Hope plays Mrs Corney as a splendid blend of sass, simpering and sadism.
Ben Cecil as Fagin is glorious; his rendition of Reviewing the Situation is pitch-perfect in every way and the audience cannot stop itself from applauding and cheering between verses.
Amelia Ryan as Nancy is raw and earthy and heart-breaking. Isaac Bates may fear being typecast – he has played the villain in the last few WOW shows I have seen but, by heck, he is just so good at it. His Bill Sikes is menacing, deliberate and absolutely vicious.
Oliver! is a show with all the most familiar themes of life at its heart – the need for love, a sense of belonging, to feel safe.
These are big themes and this young cast has demonstrated great maturity in its gutsy interpretation.
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