Oliver!

Despite never having seen the whole of the film version of Oliver in one sitting, I was actually surprised at how many songs I knew from the stage performance of the same show. Hearing classics like "Food, Glorious Food", "Consider Yourself", "You've Got To Pick-a-Pocket Or Two" sung live alone made this worth watching.

But it wasn't just the music which made the evening such a joy. The whole thing was well produced and very slick; I couldn't help but being impressed by the various stages as they all swept into one another effortlessly.

Other parts of the production were also top notch, with costume and make-up subtlety but suitably helping things along. We were also treated to some of the funniest and smooth choreography around - although not the best dancers individually when all put together it really worked magic. I think that was just 'cos it was mainly done by a bunch of kids.

Which brings me to the acting. Kids are always going to get a cheer at the end of a performance, but for me everyone in the show was merely okay and nothing special. Omid Djalili did alright as Fagin (although I did wonder what Rowan Atkinson would have done), although he did manage to bring in a few half-ad-libbed contemporary laughs.

My biggest issue with the show was one which was major enough to actually spoil it for me. Personally I feel that story and plot are major components of a theatre production (I'd go to a concert if I just wanted singing and dancing), and in this Oliver! was severely lacking. A lack of good dialogue and acting may have contributed to this, but I just didn't care much about what was actually going on and found the whole thing pretty shallow and dramaless.

This is a shame because, on paper at least, theatre is capable of making you feel different things to when you might watch, say, a film. You expect tears, laughter and major Feel Good Factor, but in terms of emotion the audience isn't tested too much by Oliver!

So overall a bit of a disappointment then? Well apart from having fun with the music and dancing (something you can already do with Spotify maybe) there isn't really much Oliver has to offer unfortunately. Having said that, this alone makes it an okay watch; just not a fantastic one.