A new production of Lionel Bart’s iconic musical Oliver! has been fully reconceived by director and choreographer Matthew Bourne and promises to be one of the most unforgettable shows ever at the Chichester Festival Theatre, where it is due to play 8 July – 7 September 2024.
The orphaned Oliver escapes the harsh Victorian workhouse and takes refuge in London’s murky underworld with the wily gang leader Fagin and his team of resourceful pickpockets led by the Artful Dodger. He finds a friend in the kind-hearted Nancy and when he’s wrongly arrested for stealing, Oliver meets an unexpected saviour; but is happiness truly within his grasp?
With a sensational score, including Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, You’ve Got to Picka-Pocket or Two, I’d Do Anything, Oom Pah Pah, As Long As He Needs Me and many more, the Olivier, Tony and Oscar-winning masterpiece vividly brings to life Dickens’ ever-popular story of the boy who asked for more.
The cast includes Simon Lipkin (Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q) as Fagin, Shanay Holmes (Miss Saigon, The Bodyguard) as Nancy, Aaron Sidwell (Henry VI, Wicked) as Bill Sikes, Billy Jenkins (Les Misérables, BBC’s Dodger) as the Artful Dodger and Philip Franks (The Rocky Horror Show, Witness for the Prosecution) as Mr Brownlow.
Oliver! is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne; co-director Jean-Pierre van der Spuy; designer Lez Brotherston; musical supervisor and conductor Graham Hurman; lighting designers Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs; sound designer Adam Fisher; video designer George Reeve; original orchestrations William David Brohn; orchestral adaptation Stephen Metcalfe; casting directors Felicity French CDG and Paul Wooller CDG; children’s casting director Verity Naughton CDG.
There will be a Dementia Friendly performance on 31 July; a Relaxed Performance on 22 August; and a Summer Gala on 6 September.
