Oliver
Oliver! The Musical with Jodie Prenger as Nancy. Griff Rhys Jones takes over from Omid Djalili as Fagin from Dec 14th 2009.
Oliver! the musical is the well known adaptation from Dickens’ Oliver Twist, now opened in London’s West End on December 12th 2008 with Olivers and Nancy selected by TV’s “I’d do anything” show and a full cast including the children from Fagin’s gang.
** Book Oliver! theatre breaks **
Behind The Scenes of Oliver! The Musical
Oliver The Musical on the TV and Radio
Next Tuesday, the 13th of January 2009 we will be able to take a peek behind the scenes at Oliver! The Musical on ITV1’s This Morning, and listen in to The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 for interviews with Rowan Atkinson, Cameron Mackintosh, Rupert Goold and Matthew Bourne and also watch the BBC news for a special report on the official opening of the much awaited production.
updated 14/01/09:
Well the Today Programme article wasn’t much, it must have been squeezed by other news. Just an an interview with Rowan Atkinson in which he explained how he played the part of Fagin in Oliver for his son’s school and called Cameron Mackintosh for help with the role. I expect there’ll be a lot more publicity about Oliver the musical today and tomorrow tough. Have you heard any good original coverage yet?
Oliver! The Musical Theatre Breaks and Full Cast List
Oliver the Musical London Theatre Breaks
** Book Oliver! London Theatre Breaks **
When people were choosing the next Nancy for the stage musical of Oliver!, I wonder how many of them thought of taking London theatre breaks to really see the show properly. Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Lionel Bart’s family musical Oliver! will make a great theatre show for a family visit to London. Rehearsals are underway already and the previews start in December. One of the best ways of getting tickets for the Friday and Saturday shows is to book them as part of all inclusive London theatre breaks.This is because the hotel and show package agencies have tickets for popular dates you might otherwise struggle to get.
Oliver with Jodie Prenger tip
Top tip – if you can’t get tickets for a Saturday try booking for the Friday. You can really make a weekend of it and can often stay the Saturday night as well for just a bit more.
Remember if you want to see Jodie Prenger don’t book Wednesday or Thursday evenings. If you don’t mind you can sometimes pick up a bargain for those shows and Tamsin Carrol (Nancy alternate) has a great voice!
When booking for whichever dates you have chosen, you will then be presented with the hotel options and here are some suggestions which may help with making that decision:
Hotels for Oliver! theatre breaks
These are just a few of the possible hotels for your stay in London to see Oliver! the musical. Your choice depends partly on whether you want to be handy for the West End or if you prefer to be nearer your train station. I think the hotels nearer the West End are often a better idea. These ones are all within a short walk but the choice is vast and most are very good.
The Buckingham – 4* elegant Georgian townhouse hotel in the Bloomsbury area. This area is a short walk from the theatre and handy for lots of attractions.
The Grange Holborn Hotel – 5* modern, high rise, luxury hotel. More affordable than you’d think. Handy for central London attractions and the theatre. This one has amazing facilities including a Roman Art Deco pool and steam rooms!
Holiday Inn Bloomsbury – 4* modern hotel just off Russell Square. It is only a short walk from the West End and is close to London parks.
Oliver! the musical Cast List
Three young actors get to play Oliver and the Artful Dodger on a rotational basis that isn’t always published:
Laurence Jeffcoate, Gwion Wyn Jones and Harry Stott – ‘Oliver’
Eric Dibb Fuller, Robert Madge and Ross McCormack – ‘The Artful Dodger’
Rowan Atkinson - ‘Fagin’
Jodie Prenger - ‘Nancy’
Tamsin Carroll -’Nancy’ on the Wednesday and Thursday evening performances.
Burn Gorman – ‘Bill Sikes’
Rosemary Leech – ‘Mrs Bedwin’
Julian Bleach – ‘Mr Sowerberry’
Louise Gold – ‘Mrs Sowerberry’
Julius D’Silva – ‘Mr Bumble’
Wendy Ferguson – ‘Widow Corney’
Other members of Fagin’s Gang
Jordan Li-Smith, 13, has been offered the part of Charlie Bates,the Artful Dodger’s best friend. Jordan appeared in BBC hit Saturday night series I’d Do Anything. Unfortunately, he wasn’t Oliver but impressed the judges.
Each gang leader has a team.
Oliver the musical Video Clips
Now, just to get you in the mood, here are all three Olivers singing “Where is Love?”
And of course – “Food Glorious Food!” from the film version:
Update
Please note comments on this post are now closed.
Exclusive Saturday Night Theatre Breaks
Exclusive Saturday night theatre tickets
A new offer from Superbreak gives you the chance to choose Saturday night tickets for one of a range of popular shows with two nights in a London hotel for a very reasonable price. There’s also a fantastic bonus pack but more about that later. The top London show Saturday night tickets for these particular dates can be hard to find which is part of what makes this exclusive theatre break deal particularly attractive. You can not only choose from a range of 3* and 4* hotels but also specify from a range of theatre ticket price bands.
For example, two could stay 2 nights in a 3* hotel and see Oliver! (with Jodie!) in January from as little as £252 ! Or go in November and see Lee Mead in Joseph before he finishes, 2 nights in a 3*hotel plus tickets for 2 from £262
Not only that you get a VIP Theatre Pack full of goodies including a special exclusive CD and loads of valuable discount vouchers. But just wait until you see which West End Musicals are included in this exclusive offer.
Want to be sure of getting tickets? Book now
Shows and Dates
The offer is for specific dates in the autumn and winter of 2008. You could even book more than one.
Dirty Dancing Saturday 18 October 2008
do I see a girls’ night out in your future? Plus these weekends in London would be perfect for anyone planning a Hen Night.
November
Feeling like a musical November to chase away the winter chills?
Grease – Saturday 08 November 2008
Is this the one that you want?
Dirty Dancing - Saturday 15 November 2008
Wedding not till November? No Problem!
Joseph – Saturday 22 November 2008
Yes, see Lee before it’s too late!
Hairspray – Saturday 29 November 2008
Top show, what can I say, these are class shows! check availability
December
What about a shopping break in London combined with a show?
Jersey Boys – Saturday 06 December 2008
Oh What A night!
Dirty Dancing – Saturday 13 December 2008
Aw, Xmas weddings are cute 
January 2009
Oliver! – Saturday 24 January 2009
Oh yes, would you believe it? Tickets to see Jodie on a Saturday in January could be yours!
Act Fast – Book Now
You are going to have to act fast to grab these. It’s such a good offer the shows will book up fast.
So act now to book your Saturday Night Exclusive Theatre Break in London
What’s in the VIP Theatre Pack?
- An Exclusive Directors Choice CD
- A free subscription to Passport of the Arts (worth £20)
- A host of discount vouchers for London Attractions
Further details and check availability of tickets on the Exclusive Saturday Peformance Offer page
Oliver! Main Cast Members Announced
Sir Cameron Mackintosh has announced more of the cast of his new production of Oliver! The new cast list includes:
Oliver – Gwion Jones, Harry Stott or Laurence Jeffcoate
Mrs Bedwin – Rosemary Leach
Mr Sowerberry – Julian Bleach
Creatives
Director – Rupert Goold (Best Director, 2008 Olivier Awards),
Choreographer – Matthew Bourne
Set Designer – Anthony Ward.
Oliver! will be a re-staging of the 1994 Sam Mendes production.
Weekend Tickets – Limited Availability
Tickets for Oliver! are selling fast with limited weekend availability right through to September 09. However, as is often the case with hot shows, there are still Oliver weekend theatre breaks available.
Oliver – Jodie gets two extra performances on a Saturday!
Jodie Prenger, winner of BBC’s I’d Do Anything, has already been given an extra two performances a week. This turns it into an almost full schedule. According to the official site:
Sickness and holiday permitting, we have decided that Jodie Prenger is scheduled to perform on Monday and Tuesday evenings, Wednesday matinees, Friday evenings and both performances on Saturday. Until the show opens in December we cannot make a final decision on any additional performances.
So someone clearly has confidence in Jodie’s ability to cope, despite what might have have been said during the show. There’s been a huge outcry about the small number of performances initially allotted to the winner. If you want to explore the full range of reactions just have a look through the seventy odd comments on my Jodie Prenger Wins I’d Do Anything blog post!
This looks like a good move on their part given the strength of the popular vote, Jodie’s personal popularity must be capable of translating into ticket sales so they’ll want to use her as much as possible.
I wonder if they had set the level so low in case one of the youngsters won. Let’s be honest, I can’t imagine 17 year old Samantha Berk sustaining more than 4 performances a week or Jessie, for that matter, at all of 18. I know Nancy’s not an enormous role but it has some taxing songs and her performance is pivotal to the success of the show. If we don’t care about Nancy nothing else makes sense.
So now you can be sure of seeing Jodie Prenger as Nancy on your Oliver weekend theatre break. Just one thing, book soon, as weekend dates are filling up fast!
Jodie Prenger is Nancy but can you be sure of seeing her?
Jodie Prenger was revealed on I’d Do Anything last night as the nation’s choice for the role of Nancy in Cameron Macintosh’s new production of Oliver at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The production starts previews from December 12th and Oliver theatre breaks are already on sale.
What Nights Will She Play?
Please Note – Updated Post – Jodie is now playing 6 shows a week.
So Jodie is Nancy, but how can you be sure of seeing her? The official web site for the show now says:
Sickness and holiday permitting, we have decided that Jodie Prenger is scheduled to perform on Monday and Tuesday evenings, Wednesday matinees, Friday evenings and both performances on Saturday. Until the show opens in December we cannot make a final decision on any additional performances.
So if you want to book Oliver theatre breaks now, to be sure of getting tickets you need to pick your days with care.
It may be that once rehearsals get going and they see how she copes more performances will be added. Currently Jodie Prenger will play 6 houses a week.
Christmas Oliver Theatre Breaks
It might still be possible to book a theatre break to see Oliver during the Christmas holidays. If you are going to go for that you will need to act quickly. I think Oliver will be a massive draw over the Christmas period. We all love a bit of Dickens at Christmas and Oliver is a perfect family show.
Oliver Christmas Performance Dates and Times
Sickness and any holidays permitting Jodie’s proposed performances are marked in red:
Mon 22nd December – 7.30pm
Tues 23rd December – 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Wednesday 24th December – 2.30pm
Thursday 25th December – No show
Friday 26th December – 7.30pm
Saturday 27th December – 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Monday 29th December -7.30pm
Tuesday 30th December -7.30pm
Wednesday 31st December – 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Thursday 1st January -7.30pm
Friday 2nd January- 7.30pm
Saturday 3rd January- 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Update – Jodie gets Saturday performances
See our latest post -Jodie’s playing both Saturday performances as well now, possibly due to public demand.
What about Oliver?
I’m afraid there’s no way to be sure of seeing your favourite Oliver. The web site states:
Due to licensing issues we cannot decide which Oliver will perform until shortly before the performance starts.
Having said that they are all wonderful, and we shouldn’t really play favourites . I can’t help but have a soft spot for one little Welsh charmer but I know they’re all good.
I’ll be ‘reviewing the situation’ and I’ll post as soon as there are any more details about the cast, dates, or anything else to do with Oliver.
Check availabilty for Oliver Theatre Breaks with Show and Stay/Holiday Extras using the form below:
Oliver – Jodie Prenger wins I’d Do Anything
Oliver has it’s leading lady – on tonight’s I’d Do Anything the public vote chose Jodie Prenger.
Jodie has been a firm favourite during the whole series. She has hardly put a foot wrong and has given some extraordinary performances. In the final she was up against strong competition from Samantha Barks and Jessie Buckley. I agree with Andrew Lloyd Webber who’s final comment was that he’d always thought this might be the result. Jodie touched a nerve with the public. She’s got a good voice and she is closest to the way Nancy is usually portrayed.
There’s been some question over how happy Cameron Macintosh would be with Jodie as his Nancy. Some newspapers went so far as to suggest that he thought she might be too ‘big’ and that he’d prefer a slimmer actress for the part. As it was tonight when he was asked how he felt about the result he said:
I’m thrilled for Jodie
This did hit a slightly off note, especially after he’d expressed his preference for Jessie only a few minutes earlier.
John Barrowman and Denise Van Outen were both obviously delighted by the public’s choice. Barry Humphries seemed less so. He’s always had a soft spot for the younger girls and I suspect he’d have preferred the role to go to either Sam or Jessie.
Did the right Nancy win?
I think so, but it was awfully close. I’ve supported Jodie pretty much from the start but tonight I switched my support back and forth between the three of them.
I loved Sam’s rendition of Anyone Who Had a Heart and was ready to change my choice. Then her duet with ‘Oliver’ put me right off her for the role. There wasn’t much wrong with it but it was just very clear that there was only 5 years between them. It just didn’t work! It was no surprise then that she went out first. I’m sure we’ll see more of Sam and she’ll be on the West End stage soon.
Jessie sang a hard song and was far better with her Oliver, striking a lovely balance between being a tomboyish big sister and slightly maternal. It was the final song that let her down I think. She gave it everything. It was magnificent but I just couldn’t see her doing it 8 shows a week.
Jodie then was a safe, assured, mature Nancy. She sang all her songs beautifully, she did a great duet with ‘Oliver’ and she was just great. A safe pair of hands.
I still worry about teaming her with the right Bill Sykes though.
Have Your Say
What do you think? Is Jodie the right choice for Nancy?
Oliver – Never mind Nancy -who will be Bill Sykes?
The Daily Mail seems to think it knows. They are tipping Burn Gorman to play the bruiser Bill Sykes in the new production of Oliver. Now I really like Burn’s work. He’ll be sadly missed in Torchwood where he did show he has an interestingly dark side. He was excellent in Bleak House on the BBC too so he knows his way around a costume drama. He’s musical, having even worked with the ENO. I just cannot quite see him as Bill Sykes. How can I put this? Maybe Dickens can help.
Oliver Twist
Skyes was….
… a stoutly-built fellow of about five-and-thirty, in a black velveteen coat, very soiled drab breeches, lace-up half boots, and grey cotton stockings which enclosed a bulky pair of legs, with large swelling calves;–the kind of legs, which in such costume, always look in an unfinished and incomplete state without a set of fetters to garnish them. He had a brown hat on his head, and a dirty belcher handkerchief round his neck: with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his face as he spoke. He disclosed, when he had done so, a broad heavy countenance with a beard of three days’ growth, and two scowling eyes; one of which displayed various parti-coloured symptoms of having been recently damaged by a blow.
You see, by this point I’m imagining Oliver Reed who played the part in the 1968 film version .
I just can’t quite fit the slim figure of Burn Gorman, all 5 ‘ 10″ of it, dominating some of the remaining Nancys. In particular I think if Burn is cast then Jodie is doomed. She would need someone with a bit more physical substance to play against than Burn. This is a great shame in my opinion as Jodie is consistently the best Nancy on I’d Do Anything. And Andrew Lloyd Webber has a cheek describing her dancing as “meatloaf” – not nice or even accurate!
I don’t really see how they can cast Bill Sykes without knowing who will play Nancy. There has to be a physical chemistry there that helps to explain why Nancy would stay with such a rat. If not it makes a total nonsense of a huge part of the plot. And this would mean that all four lead characters would have no solid, day in day out, stage musical experience! Am I the only one that’s worried?
Update – it’s Sikes not Skyes!
What can I say? I got it wrong as one of our readers kindly pointed out. Thanks Rosie
Check Availability for Oliver Theatre Breaks..
Oliver! theatre breaks on sale now
**book Oliver theatre breaks**
Theatre breaks for Oliver! the musical are on sale now for dates between Friday January 16th 2009 right up until September 26th, that’s next year.
Oliver! is shaping up to be the biggest show in the West End, with massive exposure from the TV show “I’d do Anything” and opening at the Drury Lane Theatre Royal just at the busiest time of year for Christmas and New Year theatre breaks in London. If you book now, there’ll be the added excitement of watching the TV show to find out which Oliver and Nancy you are most likely to be seeing live on stage. What a treat!
Oliver Theatre Breaks
Oliver Theatre Breaks
Star holiday dates
Note that Rowan Atkinson will be Fagin in Oliver! the musical at New London Theatre until Saturday 18 July 2009, excluding Thursday 26 March until Saturday 5 April 2009 inclusive.
Fagin as played by Mr Bean?
When the 100 strong cast starts rehearsals for Oliver they’ll be joined by Rowan Atkinson of Mr Bean fame. Actually I’m not being mean about Rowan Atkinson. I’ve got a lot of time for him as a performer and I think he’s an interesting choice for Fagin. As he says:
“In the 1980s I enjoyed doing a lot of West End theatre and since then have been distracted very much by Mr Bean and film-making,”
Of course that was his one-man show Rowan Atkinson In Revue rather than a West end musical. It ran at the Gielgud (once the Globe) before touring the UK and internationally. He won the 1981 Laurence Olivier Award for Comedy Performance of the Year for the show.
Atkinson is not new to the role
Atkinson goes on to say that he’s been thinking of returning to the stage for some time and this is an ideal opportunity. It seems he has played the part of Fagin once before but quite a long way from the West End. In Oxford in fact in a school production! Before you think it, this was no 17 year old Fagin. The production was at his son Benjamin’s £16,000-a-year Summer Fields School in Oxford. They got him for two weeks for rehearsals plus the performances in July 2005. He didn’t charge them a bean Sorry couldn’t resist it!
Fagin is a hard role to get right but I think Atkinson might just be the one to manage it. Interesting.
Thanks for reading Theatre Breaks articles about Oliver on the London Theatre Breaks Blog
