In a break from my usual haunts of The Grand Theatre and Leeds Playhouse, I ventured out to the suburbs to attend Morley Academy’s annual production and 20th anniversary performance of ‘Oliver!’ .
In a world where more and more musicals are like a night at a pop concert, it’s a refreshing change to head back in time to see a traditional, much-loved show being performed.
Set in Victorian England, Lionel Bart’s ‘Oliver!’ is based on the 19th century book by Charles Dickens. Raised in a workhouse, young, orphaned Oliver is sold to an undertaker after daring to ask the workhouse owner for more food. Following an unfair altercation, he runs away – only to be picked up by the wily Artful Dodger, who, along with the conniving Fagin, draws him into their gang of pick-pocketers.
When Oliver is wrongly accused of theft, he is taken in by a kindly gentleman, to the horror of Fagin’s
violent partner-in-crime, Bill Sykes. Caught in the middle of the drama is Sykes’ long-suffering girlfriend Nancy, yet another character who has formed an attachment with the endearing, innocent Oliver.
What struck me most when watching this performance was the sheer size of the cast. Over 100 pupils from Year 7 to Year 11 filled the stage in every ensemble number, an impressive mixture of both boys and girls. Their energy was amazing to behold, from their opening number of ‘Food, Glorious Food’ in a clear indication that every single member of the cast enjoyed being there.
The frequent, uplifting chorus songs meant that this slick performance maintained a constant sense of vigour and visual variety. A massive congratulations must be given to directors Mrs Lorraine Miller and Mr Tyler Angus for choreographing such an impressively large number of pupils through so many songs.
It’s always hard to single out performers in a show where there was an entire ensemble of talent. However, many of the roles in this show would be challenging for a seasoned expert, yet some were accomplished with such professionalism it would be wrong not to mention them. From the minute Jude Calvert walked on stage as the Artful Dodger, my eyes were drawn to his phenomenal embodiment of the role, creating a cheeky, charming character with a perfect cockney accent and a confident, powerful voice. I could not believe it when I found out that this poised and highly accomplished performance was created by a pupil who is only in Year 7!
Also drawing us into the underworld life of London was Oscar Phelan, who created a charismatic performance as Fagin. He brought brilliant comedy consistently through the show, and I was particularly impressed with his professionalism and focus.
The pressure to take on a title role is always monumental, but Y9 pupil Oscar Kennell took on this challenge with complete control, being utterly in character throughout, every facial expression helping to highlight the innocence of Oliver and demanding sympathy from the audience.
Not to be outdone, there were also some standout performances by the females. Anya Cutherbertson created a real character role with comedy and flair as Mrs Sowerby. Her singing voice was particularly impressive, with a beautiful depth and timbre, the power behind it further endorsing the comedy of the role.
The amazing stage presence of Sienna Roy as Nancy made her stand out as much as her stunning red dress did. She approached one of the biggest roles in the theatre with maturity and style. She mastered the contrast in her character, going from the life of the party in ‘Oom-Pah-Pah’ to emotional turmoil in ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ all in one scene, singing with confidence and grace throughout.
I was impressed in this production at how much talent was seen in even the smaller roles, right across the board. Nancy’s best friend Bet, performed by Year 9 Gracie Ingleson, drew our eyes to her every time she appeared on stage, her exaggerated facial expressions, powerful voice, well controlled dance moves and comic timing creating a truly professional performance.
The members of Fagin’s gang were cheeky and entertaining, all of them remaining brilliantly in character even when they weren’t centre stage. Additionally, the soloists in ‘Will You Buy’ created some lovely
harmonies and brilliantly handled the pressure of singing to a sparse accompaniment, which created a lovely tension before the whole ensemble came in.
It was also lovely to see such a large, live orchestra, under the highly competent leadership of Musical Director Mrs Esther Randall, with a wide range of instruments in play. As a brass player, I was particularly impressed with the outstanding playing of a variety of brass instruments. A special congratulations must
be given to pupil James Scott for such a stunning performance on the bass guitar, playing with an orchestra of professional musicians with amazing maturity and excellent timing.
In a time when Performing Arts is dwindling as a subject in schools across England, it is an absolute pleasure to see so many pupils being offered the opportunity to perform in a large-scale production like this More importantly, it’s uplifting to see so many pupils wanting to be involved and clearly enjoying the experience. If you’ve never been involved in a production, it is hard to explain the feeling of accomplishment you have from working as part of team to produce something so creative. The skills that a child can develop from being in a production, whether in the cast, the orchestra, the technical crew or design team, cannot be over-estimated; producing confidence, resilience, creativity and perseverance to name but a few.
Again, unless you’ve been involved in putting on a production, you also cannot quite comprehend the number of hours that have clearly been put into this show voluntarily by staff. It’s not only the rehearsal times, it’s also the hours spent planning, creating materials, making props, sourcing costumes, problem solving, making phone calls, writing emails, writing letters, checking permission slips, comforting pupils, finding pupils and then of course…writing a dozen more emails. A massive congratulations must go to all the staff involved in this production at Morley Academy for allowing the pupils to have this experience of a lifetime. I appreciate the hours you must have spent working that often go unnoticed, so if any pupils or parents are reading this, from any school in Leeds, please take the time to give the Performing Arts teachers an extra big thank you.
There were so many, many talented performers on stage that I feel awful not to be able to mention every single one by name. However, please consider this as a massive ‘congratulations’ to you all. You are a credit to your school and I genuinely look forward to hopefully seeing many of you in my own productions and A Level Drama lessons at Elliott Hudson College in the near future.
Main image: Nancy, the Artful Dodger and Ensemble.
