Oliver!

A revival of Lionel Bart's musical based on Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, staged at the Gielgud Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. The new production is reconceived by Cameron Mackintosh and Matthew Bourne.

Lionel Bart's musical draws its story from Charles Dickens's 1838 novel Oliver Twist. It follows an orphan searching for a home and family who is drawn into a gang of child pickpockets in the London underworld, seen from a child's point of view. Friendship, good against evil, poverty and crime run through the story. The musical opened in the West End in 1960, enjoyed a long initial run and received three Tony Awards in 1963.

This production is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, with Jean-Pierre van der Spuy as co-director, Lez Brotherston as designer and Graham Hurman as musical supervisor and conductor. Simon Lipkin plays Fagin and Aaron Sidwell plays Bill Sikes. The role of Oliver is shared by Jack Philpott, Raphael Korniets and Cian Eagle-Service. The score includes Food Glorious Food, I'd Do Anything and Consider Yourself.

The show suits those who enjoy a well-known Dickensian story told through song and stage performance. The Gielgud Theatre is a venue on Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End, where this production is staged.