As a horde of authentically costumed Les Beaucamps students hurtled down the central aisle between the rows of parents, grandparents, students and siblings seated in the school’s hall, we could feel the vibrations of their thunderous footsteps through our thin chair legs.
This was just one of many ways in which this remarkable student production made us feel like we weren’t so much watching a school play, as milling about in the streets of Victorian London, witnessing first-hand the selling, adoption, betrayal and eventual salvation of a young boy called Oliver.
The evocative opening lines of the song Who Will Buy, delivered beautifully by Izabella Lucane, came from behind us. Oliver himself, whose moral strength and innocence were both well conveyed by Chloe Toumine, sought sanctuary among our number when pursued. And we saw the pomposity of Red Lawson’s strident Mr Bumble up close, as the ambitious beadle sniffed out his next opportunity for advancement during Boy For Sale – a song that demands an advanced appreciation of timing which Red clearly has.
Oliver! Jr is a drastically shortened version of Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, which wisely retains what amounts to a greatest hits of musical-theatre song writing, while doing a good job of abridging a complex plot. The running time is brought down to little more than an hour and yet all the familiar situations are somehow included which give rise to classics like Pick A Pocket Or Two, here led by Alicia Cathcart’s deliciously mischievous Fagin, and Consider Yourself – brought to life with panache by Peyton Snell’s cheeky Artful Dodger.
This was a production which showcased developing acting skills and imaginative storytelling, with Lilah Armsden’s upright Mr Brownlow conveying a convincing authority, while Mathilde Brown revelled in bringing menace to the part of Bill Sikes.
One of the strengths of the production, satisfyingly for director and choreographer Lorraine Wright I’m sure, was the dynamism, energy and collaborative enthusiasm that came to the fore in all the numbers that required the whole cast – and backstage crew – to work together. These showstoppers, so effectively lit by Jacques Cathcart and Lucy Wooldridge, really gave the night a sense of grandeur.
Yet in contrast, Elise Herve’s musical direction also provided us with truly memorable moments when the whole production, along with its audience, was made still so that we could appreciate the beauty of Bart’s musical and lyrical genius and the poignancy of Charles Dickens’ story.
Where Is Love? was, perhaps predictably, one such moment. Another came during It’s A Fine Life, when Nancy – played throughout with astonishing mastery by Erin Cullwick – took the otherwise raucous song’s energy down as low as it could go for the lines ‘Not for me, the happy home / Happy husband, happy wife’, embodying a compelling vulnerability that brought lumps to many throats. It was very easy to imagine that a career in musical theatre awaits Erin, if she should choose that path. And after the experience of being in a production like this, perhaps many of these children will be inspired to pursue just that.
Regardless, they’ve all now had the chance to enjoy the thrill of a show that really comes off, and will no doubt be the more easily enticed into local amateur productions in their adult years.
I’ve had the great pleasure of watching several school productions in Guernsey in recent times, and here was yet another that left me with the very buoyant feeling that the future of theatre on this little island is in safe hands.
I can’t wait for the next one.
Because, dare I say it, I want some more.
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