Oliver!

I have a real fondness for the show, I know it almost completely off by heart thanks to the record being in my mother’s collection of musicals and so a favourite from childhood.  I loved the film too and have seen it several times in the theatre. Plus I did an adaptation of Oliver Twist for the BBC in 2008 which I was very proud of (the whole thing was stolen by Tom Hardy as Bill and Sophie Okenedo as Nancy - we nearly renamed it Bill & Nancy).  So I was well up for Matthew Bourne’s new version at Chichester before going into the West End for Christmas. 

It was terrifically good if not ground breaking.  Strong Fagin from Simon Lipkin and beautifully sung Nancy.  I found the ending a bit rushed but the key numbers were superbly staged.  Some things do project differently now, not Fagin’s Jewishness which I find tender and nuanced, and of course Lionel Bart was Jewish but maybe Nancy’s As Long As He Needs Me which now seems the deluded lament of the battered wife rather than a love song.  Any way, Consider Yourself!

I started the day with a long walk to Durleighmarsh to buy apricots. As the track is again muddy and so furrowed from bikes I came home the longer way and felt set up for the day.   I did a couple of calls in the morning and then popped over to see Mum for lunch.   I showed her the pictures of the wedding again, she was very pleased to go through them once more! 

In the afternoon, I caught up with a few emails before knocking off to go over to Chichester. We had dinner at the Ivy Cafe which was nice and wandered over to the theatre in the sunshine.