It seems that the reviews has started to come in and the first, it seems, largely agrees with my own review!"A large, highly-talented ensemble of actor-musicians, directed perceptively by Josette Bushell-Mingo, a succession of catchy Lionel Bart-style songs and a wonderfully atmospheric set, all subfusc and smoky, add up to a delightful show for Christmas with universal appeal." THE STAGE Read more here...
Another glowing review...
"It is genuinely hard to find fault with the production, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. To paraphrase the show’s title character: “Please, Octagon. Can we have some more?” WHAT'S ON STAGE. Read more here...
"The show has enough of the feel of a theatrical extravaganza, the flavour of a gaudy musical and yet the intimacy of the dark social novel on which it is based to beguile all ages." THE INDEPENDENT Read more here...
"If there's a more finely detailed, authentically Dickensian performance this year, I shall eat my head as well. ****" THE GUARDIAN Read more here...
"Dawn Allsopp's quasi-expressionist set... Robert Pickavance's snakily self-interested Fagin... Andrew Price's blustering Mr Brownlow... Esther Ruth Elliott's tortured Nancy... Tim Frances's murderous, drink-bemused Bill Sikes... fast-paced, interlocking narratives (cleverly segued in Deborah McAndrew's astute adaptation and delivered with dramatic drive in Josette Bushell-Mingo's tumultuous production, modulated by Conrad Nelson's atmospheric score..." THE OBSERVER Read more here...
"HERE is a confession. I have no great liking for Charles Dickens...and the prospect of spending two hours watching a theatrical version of one of his novels...did not fill me with festive joy. So here comes confession number two — I’m converted. I take it all back. Josette Bushell-Mingo’s re-imagining of Oliver Twist is cinematic, clever, great fun and a little bit scary — all the things that I loved about stories as a child." THE BOLTON NEWS Read more here...
"the production at Bolton this festive season is laced throughout with catchy songs and dances... Robert Pickavance is an oleaginous and sycophantic Fagin; Tim Frances is excellent comic value as Mr Bumble... This version of Oliver Twist is sweet without being saccharine, and addresses the iniquities of Victorian England without being too scary for a younger audience. Judging by the reaction from the stalls on Friday night, this is a really excellent Christmas show for the whole family." UKTHEATRE NET Read more here...
"a splendid and fresh approach to a text...the cast are uniformly excellent...But it is the set by Dawn Allsopp that is this shows real star, a cobbled London street with real smoking chimneys and hidden entrances that really steals the show, it is quite frankly the best set I have seen in regional theatre in many years." THE PUBLIC REVIEWS Read more here...
"Vigorous and spirited: a Dickens of a show....The approach is neatly pictured in the programme’s cover image; the face of a boy, puzzled, inquiring, sad against a bleak urban background recalling the Stephen Daldry/Ian MacNeil Inspector Calls: more children, sad or hopeful, a dark figure staking way behind underneath a gallows. Mixing theatrical verve and humanity, this is a fine Christmas gift of a production." REVIEWSGATE Read more here...
Other reviews and links
Read CityLife review here
Read British Theatre Guie review here
An interview with Director Josette Bushell-Mingo here.
