Oliver! London Theatre At It’s Best

I think Oliver! is a great choice for a theatre break. The elements of an emotional story from the master storyteller, a superb cast and  wonderful songs we all already know and love is hard to beat. Add in some delightful urchins, a backdrop of semi-familiar London sights and you have got a real treat!

The Story, Oliver! London musical

The musical version of Oliver! is not quite as bleak a vision as that of the book. Fagin is transformed and although still a rogue he does have moments of being almost lovable. We are treated to some marvelous set pieces like the scene in the orphanage and of course Fagin’s Den with his band of ragamuffins. What happens to Nancy is still a shock but in the end good triumphs over evil and we all have the feeling we’ve just enjoyed a wonderfully satisfying meal with all the trimmings.

The Cast of Oliver!

Oliver London

We all followed the story of Jodie Prenger as she fought her way through each round of I’d Do Anything but few of us realised what a great Nancy she would actually be. Since the show started back in December 2008 Jodie has consistently given stunning performances. She has provided the chore around which a number of Olivers and Fagins have been able to weave their own interpretations of Dickens’s heart-breaking story. Without a totally believable, warm and lovable Nancy the whole story would fall flat.  Jodie has filled that role with a passion.

Soon, though, Jodie is moving on and the next few months will give us our last chance to see her in the role.  That alone would be enough to make this a ‘must see’ show but the exciting news is that the wonderful Kerry Ellis is going to take over in the role. Kerry has a very different quality to her voice and I think she will give us a much more waif like Nancy. In some ways her fragility with that inner steel that she showed so well in her performances as Elphaba (Wicked) will be much closer to Dickens’s vision. It’s going to be an interesting transfer and  one that will definitely be worth seeing.

The newest member of the cast at the moment is Griff Rhys Jones who has just taken over as Fagin. He will be in the show for at least the next 6 months and seems to be relishing the part of the wily, old scoundrel. Jones has a good strong voice and plenty of West End experience having won a double Olivier award for his roles in Charlie’s Aunt and An Absolute Turkey

Also new in the current cast  is Stephen Hartley, though he is far from new to the role of Bill Sikes. He played Sikes in the Palladium production of Oliver in the 1990s. Physically he is closer to Dickens’s description of Sikes than the role is sometimes played and none the worse for that.

The Music

I think I’ll just let the music speak for itself!

Hotels for Oliver! London Theatre Breaks

As Oliver! plays at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane I’d go for a central hotel, somewhere like the 4* Strand Palace would be ideal. It is definitely a bit of affordable luxury and is close to the theatre and to the shops, restaurants and bars of Covent Garden. If you are on a slightly tighter budget the 3* St Giles Hotel is only 1/2 a mile away and is jolly nice.

So there you have it, a quick guide to Oliver! London, one of my top 5 choices for theatre breaks. You can click through to read more about Oliver! London.

War Horse

War Horse, the sensational play with giant equine puppets arrived at the New London Theatre after an acclaimed run at the National.

War Horse is based on the celebrated novel by Michael Morpurgo. The First World War is the backdrop for this exciting tale of bravery, and the extraordinary bond between a young recruit and his horse.

Sister Act News

Patina Miller and the rest of the cast of Sister Act continue to build up the expectation for the Palladium’s new show. Whoopi Goldberg herself managed to overcome fear of air travel in order to appear on the Jonathon Ross show and other publicity appointments in London.

Avenue Q – Theatre News is good!

Avenue Q announced that it won;t be closed forever afaterall, but is due to reopen at the Gielgud Theatre on 1 June after a month-long break from the Noel Coward Theatre.

Spring Awakening

The cast of Spring Awakening brought a refreshing new musical to the West End’s Novello Theatre after a successful run at the Hammersmith Lyric theatre. Previewing from March 21st this youthful, exhuberent but also dark musical play has had nothing but good reviews.

Moonshadow – Theatre News not good

One piece of bad news this month is that the Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens musical Moonshadow failed to find a West End theatre available for potential transfer and thus postponed opening at the Royal & Derngate, Northampton in July as originally planned.

Jersey Boys Wins Olivier Awards

The Jersey Boys musical goes from strength to strength coming top of the New Musical category amongst other awards at the 2009 Olivier Awards.

Consolation for Zorro!, a great flamenco musical which closed this month was an award for Best Supporting Role in a Musicalwhich wentdeservedly to Lesli Margherita who was sensational in Zorro!.

Emergency New Fagin for Oliver!

In a surprise announcement, Russ Abbot was asked to return to the role of Fagin in Oliver for a couple of weeks in April. Rowan Atkinson was forced to pull out for three weeks to undergo minor surgery for a hernia. Russ Abbot played the role of Fagin in the 1997 production and also in a couple of touring productions.

New Edna for Hairspray

Michael Ball has been a riot as the lead role in Hairspray for around two years so now a new Edna has been announced for July and it’s non other than Brian Conley whose West End theatre experience includes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 2005.

In the heart of the West End of London is an area sometimes called ‘Theatreland’. Traditionally it is bordered by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Kingsway to the east.
Important streets with theatres include :

• Drury Lane,
• Shaftesbury Avenue,
• The Strand.

The area contains around forty of London’s largest theatres.They tend to show mostly musicals, with a few classics, new plays,and comedy performances.

West End Guide to the Theatres

.

Most of the theatres were built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. All of them are privately owned.
All of the older theatres have great architectural character and range in style from the grand neo-classical to the very ornate rococo. They usually have luxurious, detailed interior design and decoration, with lots of gold and plush.
Occasionally the older theatres have limited leg room and restricted views from some parts of the theatre. Tickets for these areas are usually sold cheaper and are not usually offered as part of theatre breaks.
Audience facilities such as bars and toilets are often much smaller than in modern theatres.
The buildings are all listed and this can make it hard to make improvements. However several theatres have introduced modern comforts such as air conditioning and new sound systems.

The Largest Theatres in The West End

The largest theatres in the West End seat over 2,000 theatre-goers.

• The Palladium – currently about to show Sister Act – 2286 seats
• The Apollo, Vcctoria – Wicked – 2208
• The Theatre Royal – Oliver!- 2196 seats
• The Dominion – We Will Rock You – 2163 seats
• The Lyceum – Lion King – 2100 seats

I’ll be posting more soon on our West End Guide