Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist
Love & Madness
Directed by Abigail Anderson
Riverside Studios

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for Whatsonstage.com

It’s a brave choice to stage Oliver Twist when you have the highly publicised and anticipated musical version playing just down the road. If high kicks and good ‘ol cockney spirit is what you are after then you’d best stick with the Drury Lane production as you won’t find any of that down at Riverside Studios.

This much loved story of an orphaned boy needs little explanation, so ingrained is it in British literature. Love & Madness’ production is far more true to Dickens original story of the bleak existence of a boy called Oliver Twist. Not to say that this production is without laughs as there are many comical characters to be found but the humour certainly doesn’t come from a little ditty about how to pick a pocket or two.

Abigail Anderson’s pacey and energetic direction is perfect for this production which is ideally suited to a younger audience. The cast of five are wonderfully over the top in their presentation of Dickens larger than life characters, yet their performances remain truthful and do not patronise their audience. A grotesque Mr Bumble (Simon Yadoo), a troubled Nancy (Lucia McAnespie) with a heart of gold and a Dodger (Cary Crankson) who sounds like he hangs out with the kids of today remind us why this story remains so popular. Although the brutal murder of Nancy is not for the fainthearted.

The problem however lies in the fact that this production is essentially geared towards children and yet is playing to an adult audience. Whilst an older audience will still gain enjoyment from the performance they would realistically prefer something a little more sophisticated.

Children and teenagers will delight in the re-telling of this classic and it could be especially popular with those studying the text at school. However if Riverside Studios want its audience asking “please sir, can I have some more” they’ll need to reconsider their scheduling of such a production as sadly your more mature audience member will need something a little more filling.