Oliver!

Music and Lyrics by Lionel Bart
Originally portrayed by Charles Dickens in ‘Oliver Twist’

Young Oliver Twist draws the short straw and on behalf of the hungry boys who dream of ‘Food Glorious Food’ he goes to the Beadle of the grim workhouse with the immortal words “Please sir, I want some more.” The Beadle’s response is to remove Oliver and offer one ‘Boy for Sale’ and the start of Oliver’s adventures. He is sold to a local undertaker but the abuse he receives at the hands of the family makes him ask ‘Where is Love?’ and forces him to run away. He meets and is befriended by the Artful Dodger who invites Oliver to ‘Consider Yourself’ one of us, introducing him to Fagin who, in return for a bed and food, exploits a gang of boys to ‘Pick a Pocket or Two’. Oliver is taken along to steal with Dodger but it goes wrong and he is arrested and taken before the magistrates. Mr Brownlow, the victim of the gang, on discovering that Oliver was an innocent bystander takes the boy in to the luxury of his own household. This is a cause of consternation to Fagin and the ruthless thug Bill Sykes who are afraid Oliver will give away their set-up so they send Bill’s girlfriend, Nancy, to lure Oliver back. While for some characters the ending is brutal this story does have a fairytale ending for Oliver at least.

This FAOS production of Lionel Bart’s classic musical ‘Oliver!’ will transport you back to the grim reality and hypocrisy of Victorian London, as originally portrayed by Charles Dickens in ‘Oliver Twist’, where we see the contrast between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. We follow Oliver’s life from the grim workhouse, slavery and abuse at the hands of the undertaker and his family, the dark underclass of London’s criminal world and finally to safety and happiness with his own natural family. More...

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