Much like Oliver himself; we wanted more, and Cameron Mackintosh has delivered. Fifteen years after its last London revival, the beloved musical, Oliver!, has returned to the West End. And we’re considering ourselves pretty darn happy about it.
The brand new production has been produced by Cameron Mackintosh, directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, and co-directed by Jean-Pierre van der Spuy. The revival opened at the Gielgud Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue on December 14, after completing a run at the Chichester Festival Theatre in the summer.
Adapted from the legendary Charles Dickens novel; the musical follows the story of Oliver Twist, an orphan who escapes a Victorian workhouse and takes refuge with gang leader, Fagin, and his team of pickpockets. The sensational score includes the likes of ‘Food Glorious Food‘, ‘Consider Yourself‘, ‘Oom Pah Pah‘, and many more.
The cast includes Simon Lipkin (Guys and Dolls) as Fagin, Shanay Holmes (Miss Saigon) as Nancy, Aaron Sidwell (Wicked) as Bill Sikes, Billy Jenkins (Les Misérables) as the Artful Dodger, Oscar Conlon-Morrey (Only Fools and Horses The Musical) as Mr. Bumble, Katy Secombe (Les Misérables) as Widow Corney, Philip Franks (Witness for the Prosecution) as Mr. Brownlow, and Billy Byers as Alternate Artful Dodger.
Credit: @oliveronstage via IG
The creative team includes design by Lez Brotherston, lighting design is by Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs, sound design by Adam Fisher, video design by George Reeve, original orchestrations by William David Brohn, and orchestra adaptation by Stephen Metcalfe.
Cameron Mackintosh commented: “Matthew Bourne and I, alongside Sam Mendes, first reinvented Lionel Bart’s masterpiece in 1994 with a huge production at the London Palladium which we restaged in an even grander way in 2009 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Now 15 years later, having staged the largest production of Oliver! ever, we want to return to the scale of the brilliant original with a more intimate production, thrillingly designed by Lez Brotherston, which in a sweepingly imaginative way conjures up Dickensian London.”
Oliver! is booking at the Gielgud Theatre until September 28, 2025. Find out more and book your tickets here.