REVIEW: Oliver, Theatre Royal, Bath

A TASTE of Dickens came to Bath as the stage musical of Oliver was brought alive at the Theatre Royal.

This Dickensian masterpiece was joyfully revived by the Bath Light Operatic Group who brought smiles, laughs and tears to an appreciative audience.

Belting out the classics, including Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, Pick a Pocket or Two and the raucous Oom-Pah-Pah, members of the operatic group relished every scene.

Julian Baddeley's brave performance as Oliver goes beyond his tender age, with the extent of Oliver's demise from orphan boy to funeral parlour employee to wanton criminal vividly highlighted.

As Fagin and his band of child thieves take a runaway Oliver into their fold, his lessons in pickpocketing make for scintillating theatre, allowing the multi-coloured handkerchiefs to get an early airing before their more traditional role in Christmas pantomimes.

Guided by the cheekily confident Artful Dodger (Brady George) Oliver soon finds himself in hot water with the law, before a twist of fate sets him on a different path.

The street scenes and sets are vibrantly jolly, which added to the generally faultless singing, creates a wonderfully atmospheric feel of old time London.

Rob Dallimore's performance as the dastardly and dark Fagin was show-stopping and for me was the real highlight, with his solo in the song, Reviewing the Situation, a picture of pure class.

His interaction with the band of thieves in the song Be Back Soon was hilarious as he danced gleefully across the stage in his trademark rag and bone style.

With the arrival of Bill Sykes (Geoffrey White) creating pantomime-like boos from the crowd, the feeling of Dickensian tragedy was thick in the air as his gruff nature took over.

Culminating in the tragic incident on London Bridge, some of the play's gloom become ineffective due to the jolly style of director, Brian Buttle.

This version of Oliver was one of the funniest and most enjoyable I have seen, with the joyous atmosphere perfectly targeting kids enjoying a half-term treat.

Classier performances of Oliver have been staged but they would have been lost on an audience anticipating an evening of vibrancy and fun.

Craig Evry