Oliver - Theatre Royal Drury Lane

SYNOPSIS

Oliver The Musical

A musical revival of an old classic comes to the West End in December 2008. Oliver! - which first ran in London during 1960 - makes its reappearance with a brand new production by theatre-heavyweight Cameron Mackintosh at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. With the involvement of such names as Matthew Bourne for direction and choreography, and with Rowan Atkinson taking a lead role as Fagin, it promises to be a spectacular retelling of a familiar tale. Previews of the new musical begin on December 12, 2008. The show opens to the public on January 14, 2009.

The Story of Oliver!

Oliver the musical is based upon the classic story of Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens. We find ourselves in 19th century London where young Oliver is 'asking for more' to eat in the dinner hall of a workhouse populated by half-starved orphan children. For daring to challenge authority he is shown the door at the workhouse, being sold out as an apprentice to an undertaker. But Oliver gets into trouble and goes on the run, at which point he makes his fateful meeting with the Artful Dodger and London's criminal underworld.

The Artful Dodger entices innocent Oliver to 'consider himself one of the family' at Fagin's lair. Fagin is a hardened criminal and teaches his boys to become pickpockets. Oliver discovers the shocking truth when he is taken out to learn the trade, and is apprehended in a pickpocket incident when the wealthy Mr Brownlow is robbed by two of the boys that Oliver is with.

After the incident Mr Brownlow takes Oliver under his wing. But his associations with Fagin, the Workhouse and with Mr Brownlow, who turns out to be Oliver's grandfather, see him used as a pawn by those around him. He is kidnapped, held to ransom and, in a final act, held hostage by the evil Bill Sykes, before finally being reunited with his grandfather.

The 2008 West End Production

The 2008 West End production of Oliver sees Cameron Mackintosh take the reins of this legendary story and breath new life into it on stage. The show will draw on the original 1960s storyline by Lionel Bart, as well as the 1994 West End revival directed by Sam Mendes. Cameron Mackintosh's wealth of experience in theatre is sure to pay dividends, and audiences can expect a vibrant and dazzling musical production.

The involvement of Matthew Bourne will add a further dimension to the musical. Mathew Bourne is well-known to theatregoers for his unique and sometimes controversial style of choreography - notably his adaptation of Swan lake in 1995, and more recently, the Nutcracker.

In the 2008 West End production of Oliver the role of Oliver will be shared by three child actors. The actors will be chosen through a BBC talent show called "I'll Do Anything" and will follow a similar format to "Any Dream Will Do" and "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" An actress to take the role of Nancy will also be selected through the talent show.