OLIVER TWIST
Charles Dickens is a favourite author and one who I return to again and again. And my favourite of his works is Oliver Twist. A master of caricature and comedy he is equally at home with grim realities and there is little doubt that life for the poor in the early Victorian age was very grim indeed. Dickens throws together the sharp contrasts between the rich and the poor, privilege and desperation so well but never better than in Oliver Twist and no doubt that is why so many people have over the years turned to it to create an entertainment.
But go back to the book and it does not take long to see that David Lean and Lionel Bart knocked all the sharp edges and corners off the story, played on the humour and in one case let Fagin go free. That’s not to say that their versions are without merit, of course they are, great works of entertainment no doubt.
In 2004 Neil Bartlett produced his own version at the Lyric Hammersmith. It was a dark and gritty realisation of the story that pulled no punches but portrayed the bleak realities of child poverty, and crime – and it confirmed my belief that Dickens was far more than just a creator of entertaining fiction but also a recorder of social injustice.
It is to the Bartlett text that Identity Theatre have turned, using his brilliant writing and of course the writing of Dickens. The company, all adults, take on all the roles from the children to the elders in a very accomplished manner, never once leaving us confused, and the use of physical theatre techniques and a Greek chorus delivering some of the story in a liturgical plain song is very impressively done and rather haunting.
The grimness of the story is tempered to a certain extent by an element of music hall audience interaction. It’s a conceit that at times works and at other times does not, but it is a brave decision and one that whilst keeping the darkness of the whole does make it a less gruelling watch, and as such probably more palatable for a younger audience.
Photo: Miles Davies
There are some notable performances too. I enjoyed the energy of The Artful Dodger played by Zarrina Daneva who skipped around the stage throughout. Suzanne Crosby’s lascivious Bumble was both sinister and comedic and played well against Charlotte Colliingbourne as the Widow Corney. Lily Wilks as Oliver was a more confident portrayal of the eponymous hero, less feeble and pathetic than we usually see him and Max Hopkins made a very good Noah Claypole, a slobbering bully and predator.
Photo: Miles Davies
Sam Nixon’s Fagin was shrill and wicked, at times rattling through the lines just a little too fast for the somewhat difficult acoustic of BOAT and especially on a dark and windy night, but by the second half the darkness and poor weather certainly added to the drama.
Photo: Miles Davies
Bill Sykes was delivered with terrifying reality by Andy Bell, the glowering presence of evil sending chills, and CFT might well look to his performance for their own Dickens this season.
Co-directors Nettie Sheridan and Gary Cook have produced a creditable Dickens, some of his humour, lots of his darkness and paid tribute to the fact that this story does not have a happy, let’s skip off into the sunset singing, finale.
Andrew Kay
Brighton Open Air Theatre
7 August
Rating:
7 August
Rating:
