Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

Until Sat 21 Jan

words: ANTONIA LEVAY

The lauded classic tale of Oliver has had various guises over the years – from the blatantly saccharine to the deliciously dark and scary. In this latest production, Cameron Mackintosh – the master of musicals – although opting for a more upbeat adaptation, fails to achieve much more than a tame retelling of the original Dickens’ story which depicts the tragic murder of Nancy in a quite gruesome and graphic manner. With a family audience in mind, this has understandably been played down a lot in this production.

Neil Morrissey, who plays the part of Fagin, slightly irritates to begin with, and his Bob The Builder joke halfway through perhaps could, or should, have been omitted. However, by the second half you forget that Fagin is a much more than Neil Morrissey’s Men Behaving Badly legacy, and become thoroughly absorbed in the catchy tunes and storyline. Lionel Bart’s score is perfect – as is Samantha Barks portrayal of Nancy. Ian Fletcher’s Bill Sikes isn’t quite as devilish and charismatic as Oliver Reed, but he certainly projects a formidable character. 50 years on and Oliver is still delighting audiences today. If you can still get tickets, this version is a safe one to take the kids to.