Oliver! – Cameron Mackintosh's latest revival is a 'visual delight'
Performances are 'top-notch' in new staging of classic show

The pre-publicity for Cameron Mackintosh's latest revival of Lionel Bart's evergreen classic – this time both choreographed and co-directed by Matthew Bourne – spoke of a "revised" and "reimagined" version.
Fans of "Oliver!" may have been alarmed, but it turns out they had nothing to fear, said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph: the "big Twist" is simply that the show, which transfers to London in December, has an "intimacy and a quality of simplicity in keeping with the 'poor theatre' aesthetic" of the original 1960 designs, and Bart's own theatrical roots. There has been no skimping on spectacle. It's just that the spectacle has been squished, with the action taking place across "tight levels of stage".
This "Oliver!" is "a visual delight", and shows some intriguing influences, said Matthew Hemley in The Stage. "The opening, all thunder and lightning outside the gothic gates of the workhouse, resembles a Tim Burton film", and there's "more than a whiff of Les Misérables" to the impressive revolving stage, flanked by bridges. "It all works beautifully", allowing for seamless changes between Fagin's den, with its drapes and coloured handkerchiefs, and the bustling streets and hidden alleyways of Dickensian London. The projections are "subtle and unintrusive", and "tremendous" lighting brings everything "vividly to life. It oozes atmosphere."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The performances are top-notch, too, said Gareth Carr on What's On Stage – and "huge song and dance routines fill every square inch of stage space with rollicking fun and energy". Simon Lipkin is an "impressively vigorous" Fagin – "part Shylock and bigger part Captain Jack Sparrow". Shanay Holmes gives a "powerhouse performance" as Nancy.
With "pitch-perfect" singing, the show certainly does justice to Bart's "divine" score, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. I'd have liked to see a more radical reinvention of a story that revolves around child poverty and domestic violence; but still, this is "high-end", old-school entertainment. If that is what you're after, it will not disappoint.
Chichester Festival Theatre, until 7 Sep; Gielgud Theatre, London W1, from 14 Dec
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Syria’s strange post-Assad election
The Explainer Sunday’s limited vote ‘suited the phase Syria is undergoing’, says interim president
-
Why did the China spying case collapse?
Today’s Big Question Unwillingness to call China an ‘enemy’ apparently scuppered espionage trial
-
Alchemised: how Harry Potter fanfic went mainstream
In The Spotlight Traditional publishers are signing up fan fiction authors to rewrite their ‘explosively popular’ romances for the mass market
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipe
The Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
9 haunted hotels where things definitely go bump in the night
The Week Recommends Don’t fear these spirited spots. Embrace them.
-
Susie Dent picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The lexicographer and etymologist shares works by Jane Goodall, Noel Streatfeild and Madeleine Pelling
-
The 5 best zombie TV shows of all time
The Week Recommends For undead aficionados, the age of abundance has truly arrived
-
6 incredible homes under $1 million
Feature Featuring a home in the National Historic Landmark District of Virginia and a renovated mid-century modern house in Washington
-
The Harder They Come: ‘triumphant’ adaptation of cinema classic
The Week Recommends ‘Uniformly excellent’ cast follow an aspiring musician facing the ‘corruption’ of Kingston, Jamaica
-
House of Guinness: ‘rip-roaring’ Dublin brewing dynasty period drama
The Week Recommends The Irish series mixes the family tangles of ‘Downton’ and ‘Succession’ for a ‘dark’ and ‘quaffable’ watch
-
Dead of Winter: a ‘kick-ass’ hostage thriller
The Week Recommends Emma Thompson plays against type in suspenseful Minnesota-set hair-raiser ‘ringing with gunshots’