Theatre Review: Oliver! (The Palace Theatre, Manchester)

Rating ****

The story of Oliver Twist has been told and retold in a variety of mediums. From the original Charles Dickens story, to the musical motion picture and everything in-between, we are all familiar with Oliver and his journey to London to find his fortune. However, there is something about seeing the musical on stage that manages to transcend all of these various mediums, and continues to reinvent and reinterpret Dickens’ masterwork which always makes it fresh for new generations of theatre-goers.

Since the London production closed its doors in early 2011, the show embarked on a national tour of the UK and has enjoyed a number of wonderful stops on the way. The most recent leg of the journey has taken it to the Palace Theatre in picturesque Manchester – which has hosted a number of critically acclaimed shows in its long history, including Les Miserables, Mamma Mia, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The show itself was particularly impressive due to the number of highly technical dances performed by the cast, which help to draw in the audience into this fantastical idea of London of that era. Food Glorious Food manages to stand out early on thanks to the fantastic work done by the junior members of the cast, who have clearly been working hard to ensure that theyhit their marks and support the older members of the troupe. It’s a testament to how much enthusiasm the actors have for their own individual parts, and for the show itself to see how they are all able to compliment each others performances with such a high level of expertise.

This interpretation of the cast sees the key roles of Fagin and Nancy played by Neil Morrisey and Samantha Barks respectively. Morrissey, famous for a number of television appearences and voice work on popular childrens tv show Bob the Builder, surprises the audience by channeling a new and interesting take on the classic character. His unique take on Fagin see’s him both as a humorous and potentially tragic character, being able to be both amusing, yet engaging enough to force the viewer to engage themselves with the more adult themes presented in the show. Samantha Barks’ (long overdue) tour as Nancy comes just over 2 years after coming third in the BBC show ‘I’d Do Anything’, where she competed to win the role on the west end. Often criticised in that show for being too young to truly realise the complexity and nuance of the character, it seems those 3 years have made all the difference to this actress and she is able to beautifully communicate the tragedy of Nancy’s life, without letting it drift into melodrama. Her vocals were also astounding especially in her interpretation of As Long as he Needs Me which will leave even the most cold hearted adult reaching for a tissue.

Once surprising point that was raised was just how ‘adult’ this musical has become. The final scenes featuring Nancy and her lover Bill Sykes (played menacingly by Iain Fletcher) were particularly brutal, and the number Oom Pah Pah was bawdy and more sexualised than I recalled it being in other versions of the show. Rather than being a point of contention, this actually helps to make this a show for the whole family, and truly offering something for adults and children alike. There may be some moments that could be difficult for some younger viewers to understand, but these are quickly glazed over by the speedy narrative which keeps the story moving along.

In a show with this much hard work devoted to it, there is very little to criticise – however, there are some points where the show fell a little flat. The orchestra were brilliant, but were perhaps a little overpowering, and made it difficult to follow the vocals on occasion. The highly technical movements in the show are performed very well, but there were the odd missteps that popped up, but once again these are forgiven quite quickly as the story continues. Altogether these are just small points that detract from the pure spectacle of the musical, which is a terrible shame when there is so much that it has going for it.

This is not just a musical for children, it has a wide appeal to younger and older audience members with pure enthusiasm and a gentle charm that is rarely seen in some of the other largers shows. If you get the chance to see it, then ‘consider yourself, part of the furniture’ and get on down to the Palace Theatre while the show is still there.