Edwina Cooper, the Mayoress and I were invited to a production of Oliver at the Bearwood Theatre, located at Bearwood College at Wokingham. It was being staged by the Allenova Dance School which is based at Hermitage and many of the cast are from the Newbury area. The Principal is Tanya Allen.
We arrived at Bearwood Theatre for the first matinee performance and met the Mayor of Wokingham, Councillor Annette Drake and were almost immediately were whisked off for a photo call with several of the young cast already dressed as Victorian street children.
We then went into the auditorium for the first Act to begin with great anticipation. The curtain went up on the first scene, the workhouse where children file in for their meal of gruel and outrageously, Oliver asks for more! Well, we all know the plot and I do not intend to repeat it here. Suffice to say the that the singing and acting of the young people was really excellent and they were so confident with it. The costumes were very authentic and had been made individually to fit. There were 5 adult actors taking the parts of Fagin, Mr Bumble, Widow Corney, Mr Bromilow and Bill Sykes, while the senior soloists included Oliver, Dodger and Nancy. They all performed so well, and certainly the youngest boys and girls did themselves proud. The popular songs such as Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself and You’ve Got To Pick a Pocket or Two were sung with gusto and I detected some of the audience joining in! Act 2 starts with the song Oom Pah Pah sung by Nancy and a group of ‘young’ customers in the pub. Oliver having been arrested by the police but released in to Mr Brownlow’s house where he is looked after. Later he is taken by Nancy in the street to Fagin’s house and so it continues as we all know the plot. It was really an excellent performance and the entire cast were given prolonged and well deserved applause. Even the real life dog, Sykes’ Bulls-eye, a bull terrier, received applause. It was wonderful to see so many children, around 80, enjoying taking part in the musical, with great support from families and friends in helping in a variety of tasks both front and backstage. Congratulations to the Directors and all involved in a great show
We arrived at Bearwood Theatre for the first matinee performance and met the Mayor of Wokingham, Councillor Annette Drake and were almost immediately were whisked off for a photo call with several of the young cast already dressed as Victorian street children.
We then went into the auditorium for the first Act to begin with great anticipation. The curtain went up on the first scene, the workhouse where children file in for their meal of gruel and outrageously, Oliver asks for more! Well, we all know the plot and I do not intend to repeat it here. Suffice to say the that the singing and acting of the young people was really excellent and they were so confident with it. The costumes were very authentic and had been made individually to fit. There were 5 adult actors taking the parts of Fagin, Mr Bumble, Widow Corney, Mr Bromilow and Bill Sykes, while the senior soloists included Oliver, Dodger and Nancy. They all performed so well, and certainly the youngest boys and girls did themselves proud. The popular songs such as Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself and You’ve Got To Pick a Pocket or Two were sung with gusto and I detected some of the audience joining in! Act 2 starts with the song Oom Pah Pah sung by Nancy and a group of ‘young’ customers in the pub. Oliver having been arrested by the police but released in to Mr Brownlow’s house where he is looked after. Later he is taken by Nancy in the street to Fagin’s house and so it continues as we all know the plot. It was really an excellent performance and the entire cast were given prolonged and well deserved applause. Even the real life dog, Sykes’ Bulls-eye, a bull terrier, received applause. It was wonderful to see so many children, around 80, enjoying taking part in the musical, with great support from families and friends in helping in a variety of tasks both front and backstage. Congratulations to the Directors and all involved in a great show
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