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Oliver!
Presented by: Mountain District Musical
Society (MDMS)
Venue: Karrilyka Theatre, Ringwood
Reviewer: Renee Maloney
Date Reviewed: 13th June 2008
Oliver! has marked the debut theatrical performance of many young
boys as Annie has done with many young girls. Saturday night I took
a short trip to the Karrilyka Theatre, Ringwood to see Mountain
District Musical Society’s production of Lionel Bart’s classic
Oliver!.
The moment I walked into the theatre the tone was for this dark and
eerie tale based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. We were
introduced to the scaffold (which formed the bulk of the set) and
tables set for the Workhouse. It was quite dark with predominantly
orange lighting on the silhouette of London covered with a light
fog. As the audience begin to flow in you could feel the buzz and
excitement in the atmosphere.
Catherine Carr’s use of the set was innovative. The utilisation of
the scaffolding and minimalist scene changes to keep the audience’s
attention was impressive and very worthy of noting. Her direction
was tight however there could have been a little more variation in
the space used, there seemed to be a lot of action happening very
far downstage. I was a little disappointed with the use of young
girls in the “Workhouse for boys”; I think perhaps if girls were
required they needed to be disguised as young boys to be true to the
time period.
The set itself was cleverly designed by
Doug Bennett. As I mentioned
before, the greater part of the set was black metal scaffolding with
steps up to and to connect the scaffolding together. Other pieces of
setting were brought on such as tables in the workhouse and in the
pub, a fireplace for Fagin’s lair and a table and chair for Widow Corney’s Parlour. Mr Brownlow’s house was set on the OP side of the
scaffolding platform and was decorated with pictures and curtains
that came from the fly tower and a rug at the bottom of the
staircase to symbolise the entrance to the mansion.
Niki Davis’
costumes were fantastic, however it would have been nice to see a
little more attention paid to detail of the time period and social
class of some of the characters. Mr Bumble’s costume was a
particular highlight for me as was Nancy’s costume however it was a
little to clean and pretty for a person with her economic
background.
Brenton Van Vliet’s lighting design was superb. The use of colour to
enhance the atmosphere for the scene was well executed. My personal
favourite was the beginning of “Who Will Buy?” the way the specials
picked up the each of the soloists created a beautiful and powerful
moment in Act 2 in a simple yet very effective manner.
Sound was a little disappointing at times as we could not hear some
of the performers over the orchestra and at other times the sound
was a little distorted. Chris Shute’s orchestra were flawless. The
ten-piece ensemble was tight and well rehearsed. One of the best
balanced orchestras I have heard in a long time.
Kim Annette’s choreography was energetic and fun filled however I
think some of the ensemble (particularly the junior cast) could have
been pushed further to create more dynamic and exciting routines.
Newcomer to theatre Douglas Rintoul commanded the stage with a naïve
interpretation of Oliver. His voice was very lovely as was his sweet
British accent. Well done!
Jeremy Palmer as the cunning Artful Dodger was excellent. The
thirteen year old boy had comic timing and stage presence well
beyond his years. “Consider yourself” and “I’d do anything” were
highlights of the production. Watch this boy – he has the triple
threat factor!!
All of the adult principal and supporting characters were great and
reflected their experience. Adrian Carr (Mr Bumble), Alannah
Guthrie-Jones (Widow Corney), Mario Mohorko (Bill Sykes), Sean
Pocock (Noah Claypole), Eleanor Horsburgh (Charlotte), Emily
Mulholland (Bet) and John Mangan (Mr Brownlow) all delivered lines
and performed like the well seasoned performers that they all are.
Julian Dunham as Fagin and Kathryn White as Nancy were definite
standouts in the show. It was hard to believe that this was
Kathryn’s first lead role. Congratulations Kathryn on a job well
done.
Overall, a
most enjoyable and entertaining show with some great highlights and
moments from some very talented performers. Congratulations to
everyone involved.
I
urge everyone to stop whatever they are doing next weekend to get
down to the Karrilyka Theatre to see MDMS’ “Oliver” before it is too
late.
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