CHILDREN'S THEATRE REVIEW: Oliver - St. James's High School, Farnworth. Bolton.

Talent, glorious talent! On Friday 15th July 2022, St James's High School welcomed an excited audience to the early 1800s! Pocket watches in hand we took a step back in time to see these talented young people perform the Dickens' classic that was Oliver! Set in the cold and dreary workhouse our ears open to the classic 'Food Glorious Food', sang by the angelic ensemble! Their youthfulness and cheekiness captured in the energy-bursting opening number which lead us to our delightful introductions with young Oliver Twist, played by Chloe Hunter - a casting that couldn’t have been more perfect!

Young Oliver expelled from the workhouse by Mr Bumble & Widow Corney played respectively by Elliot Whitehead & Abigail Faulkner, were a fantastic paring of witty pomposity! Their characters brought humour and a domineering presence to their roles which were executed wonderfully. A quick set change and Oliver is welcomed into the undertaker's household where Jolie Smethurst and Emma Higham gave us a wonderful performance that gave me greedy, selfish, uncaring vibes, similar to that of Monsieur & Madame Thénardier from the iconic musical Les Miserables.

On to the poverty-stricken streets of London, Oliver is woefully blessed with an encounter with arguably a theatrical favourite that is The Artful Dodger! Skyla Redford stepped beautifully into this role as the perfect casting! She was cheeky, cunning and charismatic! Her renditions of ‘Consider Yourself’ and ‘I'd Do Anything’ left the audience with a buzz. Throughout the show she gave the perfect amount of confidence and character and left us wanting more. Big shoes were left to fill with the character of Fagin! However Lily Moro stepped up to the plate and delivered! An iconic role in itself, Fagin, arguably another audience favourite, teaches Oliver the ropes of pick-pocketing and Moro did this brilliantly in her performances of ‘You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two’ and ‘Be Back Soon’. Her vocals showed how incredibly talented she is! And her characterisation was beyond remarkable! Such big shoes to fill that were filled in a dazzling way!

As a child I was always petrified by the character of Bill Sykes and watching this show at the age of 26, I was terrified once again as Alex Farrar played his character eerily well! His towering frame and villainous performance was suited perfectly to the character and the shock of Nancy's Death gave me chills!

The star of the show for me was the wonderfully talented Hollie Daley, her vocals were astonishing and her embodiment of Nancy was truly remarkable! Her ‘Oom-Pah-Pah’ and ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ could be compared to that of a West End performance! She really is a talent!

Overall this couldn’t have happened without the fantastically talented chorus and ensemble! They complimented each of the main characters with tenacity and confidence! Each student worked their socks off and it was very clear to see! Directed by the brilliant Johanna Hassouna-Smith, St James's School show is always a delight to watch and one for the calendar each year as they go above and beyond! It’s so refreshing to see the arts coming back to life after such a challenging year for the performance industry through the talent of these young people! - ‘I’d do anything’ to watch it again!

Reviewer - Caroline Bleakley
on - 15.7.22