From the magazine Lloyd Evans

Stylish facsimile of Carol Reed’s film: Oliver!, at the Gielgud Theatre, reviewed

Plus: an absurdist play with echoes of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros and Kafka's The Metamorphosis at Park200

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans
Jack Philpott as Oliver and Billy Jenkins as the Artful Dodger, one of the greatest acting gigs in all musical theatre JOHAN PERSSON
EXPLORE THE ISSUE 08 February 2025
issue 08 February 2025

Oliver! directed by Matthew Bourne is billed as a ‘fully reconceived’ version of Lionel Bart’s musical. Very little seems to have been reconceived. This stylish and dynamic show develops like an unblemished copy of Carol Reed’s film. Fair enough. Punters want comfort, not novelty when they go to see a 65-year-old musical.

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