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You've Got to Pick A Pocket or Two?!
12th June 2008
By Melissa Trickey
Sometimes I wonder, why do people like Oliver so much!? It’s dark,
dirty, includes starvation and domestic violence….? Bit of a bleak
picture isn’t it?! If I had to guess I’d say it’s probably because
despite all of that the story has a positive message and outcome, is
cheeky and witty, and has so ripper songs!!! And everybody loves a
story where the little guy wins don’t they?!?
I
spoke with some of the stars of STAG’s Oliver: Matthew Sneyd (Artful
Dodger), Jade O’Shea (Bill Sykes), Michael Molony (Faggin), and
Emily Zierk (Nancy) about their roles in the Musical.
 “There
are a lot of things I enjoy about playing the Artful Dodger,” 15
year old Matthew told me. “The Artful Dodger in this production of
Oliver is a little bit different from what other productions would
depict of the Dodger. In our STAG production, it is a lot darker
than the normal story. In your typical Oliver production, the Dodger
is a young, cute, happy pickpocket. But in this version of Oliver,
the Dodger is a lot tougher, more mature, and more evil. This
character is an undersized 17-18 year old and could have very well
murdered a couple of people. He has probably been picking pockets
since he could walk, and therefore is much more mature and has a lot
of experience. I guess that’s what I like about playing Dodger the
most is that he is rather dangerous and unpredictable in this show.
He is still very charming and can be happy if he wants to be and
still enjoys singing songs and dancing around, but if it was
necessary he could severely hurt someone or even kill them to get
the job done.”
 “I
think what makes the Artful Dodger artful is the fact that he is so
cunning. He is sly, cheeky and a clever little bugger who could use
his charm and wit to pick your pocket without you even realising it.
And in the rare occasion that he does get spotted picking a pocket,
he is always calm and can make a speedy get away without attracting
too much attention.”
“Dodger is dodgy because he has never really had any good role
models in his life. He has grown up with Fagin and Bill Sykes being
his only mentors; this hasn’t really given him a good start in life.
He has been brought up in a bad way, taught to pick pockets and
steal for a living. He idolizes villains. He is the type of person
who could be your best friend or your arch enemy. He is
unpredictable, untrustworthy, and yet there is something appealing
about his personality that draws people in. And that is a dangerous
quality that could get people into deep trouble.”
Jade has a different take on his situation- “To be honest, I just
wanted the chance to play a character that is ‘evil’. I believe so
much more can be done with these characters....plus I had previously
played Mr. Bumble in a high school production, so playing a
different character in a Musical I enjoy just seemed like the right
thing to do. Plus his costume is amazing!!! The cast has been
fantastic, everyone gets along well. It’s a fantastic group of
people to work with. They make the long rehearsals go by fast...it’s
just a fun group of people!”
When faced with the question of Bill’s deepest darkest personality,
Jade ponders. “Yes, I truly believe he is evil. I see him growing up
troubled and the only way he knows how to get what he wants from
people is to manipulate and cause pain.”
 Michael
Molony is clearly excited about his upcoming role as Faggin- “ ‘In
this life, one thing counts’.... and I have been itching to play
Fagin since I was barely older than Oliver – just had to wait for my
whiskers to grow and to reach the appropriate age limit! Fagin has
always appealed because though a rascally villain on the outside, on
the inside is a heart of .....perhaps gold plated pyrites.”
“Fagin’s not really evil – he’s a lovable rogue, who’s probably
inevitably undone because he has a moral strength yet a physical
weakness - he incapable of being cold blooded or as evil as, say,
Bill Sykes. On a scale of one to ten of evilness, he’s probably a
three. – and it doesn’t hurt that he sings one of the most memorable
and amusing songs in theatre history in “pick a pocket or two.”
“How am I similar to Faggin? I have a proclivity for long whiskers
and a penchant for dollar bills in large amounts. I can’t quite pull
off the neck scarves though! Working in professional capacity (a
Certified Practising Accountant), I have never picked ‘a pocket or
two’ unless; reducing a clients income tax liability counts. (But
then, "why should we break our backs, stupidly paying tax....."
Ooops!)”
 And
so we come to Emily Zierk who plays the thankless Nancy who
eventually gets bludgeoned to death… and how is this appealing you
may ask? “I like Nancy's spirit and her courage. I like her
devil-may-care attitude, and her devotion to her man. I feel immense
compassion for her, too - she's a victim not just of domestic
violence, but also of the British class system, and its ingrained
prejudice. To me, she represents a challenge to the social paradigm,
and I think that's what Dickens intended; Bart's interpretation of
her is a little more romantic, but I think he still captures that
'strong woman' archetype. In Nancy, we see someone who is inherently
good, but is unfairly corrupted by her social position. It's this
humanity that makes her so endearing - anyone who has ever felt
wounded by something they have no control over will find something
in common with her.”
What does Emily think it is about Bill Sykes that Nancy loves? “He's
a bad boy! He's an early example of the character archetype that we
still see in the media - the aspirational, domineering alpha-male
who uses physical and psychological power to control his audience,
yet who is adored by women. As I've never fallen under the spell of
such a 'bad boy', I can only give my soft-spot for Robbie Williams
as a modern-day example of why women find this sort of pre-evolution
cave-man so attractive.”
“Oliver has been jolly good fun so far. STAG people are lovely to
work with, and they've taken very kindly to me, a stranger in their
midst. Nancy's been on my 'on-stage wish-list' for several years,
and I'm thrilled to have this opportunity.
 And
finally, what do you think ‘Oom pah pah’ means?! “I've thought about
this long and hard, and I've come to the conclusion that it's a
Dickensian version of "sex (Oom), drugs (pah) and rock'n'roll
(pah)", where cheap gin replaces the drugs, and a cheap
parlour-piano the rock'n'roll. Nothing really changes about human
nature, does it? Dickens was a great social observer, and I don't
think this message was lost in translation.”
Don’t miss this season of Oliver, which will no doubt be a great
success, check out our What’s On section for details. |