National Operatic & Dramatic Association                               London Region

 

Society             : West Wickham Operatic Society

Production      : Oliver!

Date                 : Friday 24 May 2024

Venue : Churchill Theatre

 

Be inspired by amateur theatre

 

     Report by   : Robin Kelly

 

                                                                                                                                                        Show Report

General

54 years since its West End opening, Oliver! continues to be a popular show with audiences, with numerous professional revivals as well as amateur productions. It holds a special place for me personally, having been in Fagin’s gang in 1967.  Knowing or having seen many of the cast previously, this was clearly an exceptionally strong line up, ensuring that the audience was in very safe hands. A large contingent of youngsters also ensured that there were potentially plenty of family members to bulk the audience out, which is no bad thing. Filling an 800 seat theatre is not an insignificant challenge but it appeared that receipts have not been disappointing.

 

Direction

One of the difficulties Kevin Gauntlett faced is that, notwithstanding a few tweaks in the construction of this revived version, the show is so well-known that audiences do have certain expectations as to how characters should be played. Kevin wisely maintained tradition, although some castings demonstrated that a little leeway is still possible. The large contingent of young performers was well managed. There were also some effective touches such as the snowflake fall. It also has to be said that while combining direction with performance is not to be recommended, the self-contained part of Mr Bumble was such that there was no obvious compromise in staging. There are also some elements of the show construction which are difficult to get around. The murder of Nancy, dispatch of Sykes and reunion of Oliver and Mr Brownlow seems very rushed. However, it does mean that particular attention needs to be paid to drama and characterisation. It might be expected that Oliver would be traumatised by events, but no account seems to be taken of this in the writing!

 

Principals

Although Joseph Warrington (Oliver) is at the centre of the piece, he is more affected by the actions of others. The main means by which his own personality is communicated is through song, especially with the heart rending Where Is Love? In which Joseph communicated Oliver’s fundamental vulnerability.

 

Coping gamely with a vocal range which it is suspected presented rather more demands at the end of the rehearsal period than it had at auditions, Oliver Clayton (Artful Dodger) had masses of confidence as well as some very nifty dance moves.

 

As might have been expected, Andy Moore (Fagin) absolutely nailed the humorous aspects of his role. In spite of physical appearance, Fagin has to have the kind of charm which can engage with everyone, particularly young people. However, this is a many layered character. Some indication of this was provided in Reviewing the Situation. However there is also a level of darkness associated with the source of his income, a sign of which is provided in his receipt of stolen goods from the murderous Sykes. Letting the mask drop occasionally would have made for a richer character.

 

While Ollie Kenny (Bill Sykes) might not have had the traditional physicality of the role, there was no doubting his psychopathic menace. The autobiographical My Name gave ample evidence of his amorality and vindictiveness – the wonder being that Nancy could ever have thought that he needed her.

 

Gabrielle Onyett (Nancy) might have been born to play this role. She put everything into it, whether leading the ensemble in Oom-Pah-Pah or holding her heart out in As Long As He Needs Me. At times, this determination did compromise vocal quality slightly but there was no doubting the emotional intent.

 

In spite of the comedic aspects of their roles which provided a lot of fun, Kevin Gauntlet (Mr Bumble) and Tracey Prizeman (Widow Corney) are nonetheless deeply unpleasant. At least Bill Sykes makes no pretence about his villainy! They made an excellent combination, singing well (although the absence of mic amplification for Kevin on this performance did unfortunately create something of an imbalance).

 

Philip Netscher (Mr Sowerberry) and Amanda Farrant (Mrs Sowerberry) gave two strong and well-defined characters, who bounced exceptionally well off each other. The return of a rather drunk Mr Sowerberry in the morning was perfectly pitched. Their singing in That’s Your Funeral was also excellent and this scene in particular really helped to set the dark, yet still somewhat comic tone for the rest of the show.

 

In the smaller roles, Kate Gauntlett (Charlotte) and Joseph Faint (Noah Claypole) gave decent cameo style performances. Joseph in particular was a suitably unpleasant bully and Charlotte came across as a rather giggly and selfish girl.

 

Nancy Mae Banks (Bet) gave solid support as Nancy’s side-kick as well as doubling as a dancer. A kindly Richard Rook (Mr Brownlow) added his not inconsiderable experience and stage presence, with good support from housekeeper Liz Hodgson (Mrs Bedwin) and a nice comic turn from Patrick Olliffe (Dr Grimwig). Special mention should also be made of Samantha Drain (Rose Seller) Sian Davis (Milkmaid) Kate Gauntlett (Strawberry Seller) and Matt Ropkins (Knife Grinder) for leading off in the epic Who Will Buy?

 

Ensemble

In Oliver! the ensemble really consists of two separate groups, the youngsters and the adults. It was good to see the girls feature as school children in Who Will Buy?. The youngsters did an excellent job throughout the show. Their singing was clear and well delivered, with some excellent characterisation. The adults too were working hard throughout. There was a variety of different characters in each of the street scenes, all delivered well and with great enthusiasm and energy.

 

 

Choreography

It can almost be guaranteed that if Danielle Grant is choreographing, the best will be extracted from movers and dancers alike. The complication in this particular production was accommodating the range of talents, ages and experience of over forty youngsters split into two teams and doubling the rehearsal workload. The youngsters were well drilled, with no sideways glances or moves fractionally late betraying the one person not entirely confident and to whom audience attention is unerringly attracted. What was particularly impressive however was the clever formation and reformation of groupings which ensured that the entire stage was used.

 

Musical Direction

Leading a twelve piece orchestra, Anne Greenidge provided sympathetic instrumental support to the strong solo and company vocals which are always a feature of WWOS productions.

 

Set & Props

Scenic Projects provided an adaptable set with stairs swinging in or out as appropriate for scenes such as The Workhouse, Thieves Kitchen, Three Cripples and London Bridge. However, this did come at the cost of unavoidable slight pauses between some scenes. Wendy Todd & Amy Heather sourced a range of Victorian props which all had period appropriate appearance.

 

Stage Manager

Assisted by a crew of seven and with scenes shifted in blue light by cast members, Richard Burchell kept the action moving as fast as was practicable, especially given the challenge of working with such a large company.

 

Costumes

With costumes from the Costume Workshop, Isle of Wight, Josie Simpson dressed an extremely large company through numerous changes, some of them not necessarily leisurely! It was a pity that a way could not be found to provide cast members requiring spectacles with something approaching period appearance but it has to be acknowledged that this would be beyond the resource of most amateur groups.

 

Lighting

Designed by Michael Simpson with technical support from James Burden, Tom Lee and Sam Blackmore, lighting was pitched at just the right level. There is a temptation to darken the stage to candle light level in many scenes which, although making dramatic sense, becomes extremely tiring for an audience. This was thankfully avoided, with brighter, happier scenes (for example Who Will Buy) nonetheless still contrasting significantly with other more sombre scenes such as in the workhouse.

 

Sound

Although the Churchill auditorium has some notorious dead spots, sound engineers Steve Allen and Sarah Jones successfully balanced output, certainly to the extent of this NODA rep’s location, with no other issues reported.

 

 

NODA Website & Production Summary

This epic production, involving two teams of over twenty youngsters each, was blessed with an extremely strong line up of principals with parts almost tailor made for some. The enthusiastic audience response in sold out performances of an 800 seat auditorium is testament not only to the enduring popularity of the show but the excellent standard of performance.

 

Programme

There was no hard copy of programme available, the decision having been made to produce an E-programme only. This of course has a number of advantages, not least of which was the inclusion of many photographs apparently taken at the dress rehearsal. Conventional programmes have the disadvantage of limiting the number of pages available for content – not a problem for an E-programme. Jonny Faint created an excellent design for the format. However, in spite of it having been reported to me prior to the show that the E-programme had proved very popular with the audience, I received other more negative responses. On a practical level, not all audience members were aware that an E-programme was available. This suggests much greater profile is required for the QR code if the exercise is to be repeated. Some older members were not quite so enthusiastic, especially those lacking or uncomfortable with the technology. On a practical level, the format was such that printing a hard copy off was not possible. Further, reference to the programme in the auditorium was not possible once the show had started owing to restrictions on the use of mobile phones.

 

Front of House

As ever, there was a warm welcome from Bob Faint and Terry Gauntlett. I very much look forward to seeing you all again in the autumn.

 

 

Robin Kelly

NODA London Regional Representative District 4

South-East London and Part of Kent