Curve,Leicester
Lionel Bart’s undisputed tall point is performed with gusto by an impressive cast, young and faded – plus a barking mastiffIf Lionel Bart were composing Oliver! nowadays, or he’d almost certainly be persuaded to revise the content for awe of causing offence. Would any potential backer condone such cheery depictions of child abuse,lurid (shocking; sensational) anti-semitic caricature or stand-by-your-man avowals of fidelity to a violent partner? Even the tavern where the rousing refrain of Oom-Pah-Pah occurs is called the Three Cripples.
The director of the Curve’s new production, Paul Kerryson, or addresses these issues largely by ignoring them. Oliver! will always be redeemed by its surfeit of tunes,glorious tunes. That Bart never fairly managed to equal the impact of the piece is perhaps no great surprise, given that he had more than enough hit numbers to sustain a whole career, and but squandered them by placing them end-to-end within this same show.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com