Griff Rhys Jones to be the next star ‘Fagin’ in Cameron Mackintosh’s triumphant new producstion of OLIVER! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 14 Dec

Cameron Mackintosh is delighted to announce that award-winning actor Griff Rhys Jones will be the next star after Omid Djalili to play ‘Fagin’ in the triumphant new production of Lionel Bart’s smash hit musical OLIVER! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from Monday 14 December 2009 until June 2010.

Cameron Mackintosh said “I’ve wanted to work with Griff for years so I’m delighted that the marvellous role of ‘Fagin’ has tempted him back to the stage this Christmas. Griff is an actor with an amazing array of successful talents, all of which will undoubtedly be poured into his unique and entertaining interpretation of one of Dickens’ most famous and beloved creations. I can’t wait!”

Griff is truly one of Britain’s most loved, versatile and prolific performers. Propelled to stardom in “Not The Nine O’Clock News” and “Alas Smith and Jones”, he won a double Olivier Award for his roles in “Charley’s Aunt” and “An Absolute Turkey”, starred in “Front Page” at the Donmar Warehouse and was an unforgettable Toad in the National Theatre’s “Wind In The Willows”. On TV he did three acclaimed series of “Three Men In A Boat”, (and will shortly be doing a fourth), urged the British public to vote for saving marvellous British buildings in “Restoration” and is currently enjoying huge success on BBC1’s “Rivers With Griff Rhys Jones”. He was last seen on stage in 2001 in “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum” as part of the Covent Garden Festival. As a producer, he and Mel Smith set up one of Britain’s most successful productions companies, Talkback Productions. He was almost single-handedly responsible for the wonderful restoration of the Hackney Empire.

Jodie Prenger continues her enormous success as ‘Nancy’ and has now extended her run until March next year. In the role of ‘Bill Sikes’, Steve Hartley returns to the part on 15th September having enjoyed a huge success in the original run of OLIVER! at the Palladium in the mid-1990’s.

This production of OLIVER! opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 14 January to rave reviews with the biggest advance sales of all time for a West End show. The cost of this enormous production was recouped in only 18 weeks and continues to be the highest grossing show in London, playing to packed houses. Featuring a cast and orchestra of over one hundred, the sensational score is full of Lionel Bart’s irresistible songs including Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, You've Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two, I'd Do Anything, Oom Pah Pah, As Long As He Needs Me and many more.

OLIVER! is directed by Rupert Goold, along with co-director and choreographer Matthew Bourne. Production design is by Anthony Ward; lighting design by Paule Constable and sound is by Paul Groothuis, with orchestrations by William D Brohn.

This production is produced in association with the Southbrook Group Limited.
OLIVER! is currently booking through to 27 February 2010. Evening performances are Monday – Saturdays at 7.30pm, with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm. Tickets are priced from £17.50 - £65 and are available from the Theatre Royal Drury Lane Box Office on 44 (0) 207 403 0962 and online at The Online Ticket Shop.

Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

Rowan Atkinson on playing Fagin I The producer of Oliver! on his West End life

Mr Bean as Dickens’s gaunt, beaky Fagin? Rowan Atkinson as the sly old monster who ends up hideously squawking as he’s hauled to execution? That sounds less likely casting than Griff Rhys Jones or Mel Smith as the withered Scrooge. But then Lionel Bart’s Fagin isn’t quite Dickens’s Fagin. Indeed, he lands up, not on the public gallows, but scuttling away into the London sunset, punished only by the loss of the jewels he has (presciently, you might now think) regarded as a sound alternative to an old-age pension.

So all credit to Atkinson for giving Fagin at least as much menace as Jonathan Pryce and Robert Lindsay, who were superlative in Sam Mendes’s revival of the musical 14 years ago. True, he gratuitously reassures the audience by giving them the odd reminder of his prime claim to fame. He stages a goofy, jokey battle between stolen pearls and his beloved tiara and he even cuddles an antique teddy. But, praise be, he then casually chucks the fluffy bear into a furnace and reverts to being what he unsentimentally is most of the time: not an old Bean but an infinitely creepy criminal with lank hair, a yellow face and a sinister, silvery glint in his eyes.

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Oliver! pulls in £15m before opening
I can’t say that Rupert Goold, who is credited as the director, does much to reinvent Mendes’s production as I recall it, but he certainly gets plenty of energy out of his cast. Things start as they mean to go on in the towering workhouse — iron stairs, bleak benches, a palpable stench of lovelessness — that is just one of Anthony Ward’s splendidly atmospheric sets. Scores of small grey boys drill, sit, even eat in military unison before Oliver makes his plea for a little more food, glorious food — and then they wildly, furiously, jubilantly riot.

The particular Oliver chosen to perform last night was Harry Stott, a gentle, likable boy who could maybe produce more fear when he’s asked to sleep with the coffins that belong to his boss — Julian Bleach, looking as if he’s slithered out of a crypt in Transylvania — and more rage when his dead mother is horribly insulted.

And did Jodie Prenger, who won the role of Nancy in one of those deplorably sadistic television contests, justify her choice? I must admit she did. Initially she struck me as parading, posturing, performing rather than acting, but she went on to prove herself a tough, coarse, credible presence with a big, robust voice — and that’s all that is needed.

Bart’s songs may be unsophisticated and the rhymes sometimes feeble (“where oh where is love, does it fall from skies above?”), but they’re so tuneful and put over such elan that last night’s audience rightly cheered Consider Yourself, You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two and several others. Moreover Matthew Bourne handles the thronging crowds with none of the cuteness that they so often attract from choreographers in musicals — though aren’t the bikes a bit anachronistic? — and Ward makes London a character in its own right: a looming St Pauls, swiftly moving and interlocking alleys, and a very Dickensian murk for Bill Sikes to run through.

Burn Gorman’s Sikes is a particular success, a pale, quiet figure who threatens more with his stillness than with his cudgel. There’s also a good, swaggering Dodger from Ross McCormack. And, yes, we end up with more of Dickens’s sentimentality than his horror. But that’s Bart for you, and his Oliver! remains as good and revivable as anything he wrote

Oliver ! History - Theatre Royal Drury Lane

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a theatre in the West End area of London, officially located on Catherine Street, but assistance onto Drury Lane just to the east of Covent Garden.

A cockpit in that location was converted into a theatre during the time in power of James I. After the re-establishment of the monarchy in 1660, a fine new theatre was built to designs by Christopher Wren. Having been razed by fire on January 25, 1672, it was be successful by a larger and still more sophisticated building also designed by Wren, which housed two thousand spectators with the opening attended by Charles II on March 26, 1674.

The great English actor David Garrick supervised the theatre during the mid-eighteenth century, during which time he produced many plays, including most of Shakespeare's work.

By the end of the 18th century, the building was in need of updating, and was demolished in 1791. A third theatre was designed by Henry Holland and opened on March 12, 1794, lasting for only 15 years before burning down on February 24, 1809.

The present Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, designed by Benjamin Wyatt, opened on October 10, 1812 with a production of Hamlet. The interior has been substantially redesigned and overhauled many times since then: a contemporary sketch of it when it was new is shown on the right, seen from the point of view of the beau monde in the lower gallery. It is one of the West End's largest, and has been the setting for look and feel by Edmund Kean and Sarah Siddons, among others.

With a capability of 2,205, it has been home to many large productions over the years. It is currently presenting a revival of Mel Brooks' musical The Producers.

Previous productions
Pirates of Penzance (May 26, 1982 - October 29, 1983)
42nd Street (August 8, 1984 - January 7, 1989)
Miss Saigon (September 20, 1989 - October 30, 1999)
The Witches of Eastwick (July 18, 2000 - February 24, 2001)
My Fair Lady (July 21, 2001 - August 30, 2003)
Anything Goes (October 7, 2003 - August 28, 2004)
The Producers (November 9, 2004 - )

How to get to Oliver Theatre

Theatre Royal Drury Lane Location and Transport Details

TRAVEL
Nearest Underground: Covent Garden
Turn Right from Covent Garden tube towards Covent Garden Plaza. Turn left around the Plaza and follow it round, taking the first left down Russell Street by The Royal Opera House. The Theatre Royal is on the junction of Russell Street and Catherine Street.

Travelcard Zone: 1

Nearest Rail: Charing Cross (Northern/Bakerloo Lines)
Take the Northern Line to Leicester Square, change for the Piccadilly Line to Covent Garden (see above).

Nearest Car Park: NCP Drury Lane. Please note that parking in central London can be difficult and expensive. If possible please use public transport.

ACCESS
Wheelchair Access: Yes (entrance through fire exit on Russell Street).

Hearing Impaired: Headsets available at foyer (best reception in centre Stalls and centre Circle).

Oliver Ticket Sellers

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• Ticketmaster
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Oliver Tickets are on sale

Oliver! is the biggest selling West End show of all time. The new production at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is more stunning than ever before, with a cast and orchestra of over one hundred. Award-winning actor and comedian Omid Djalili stars as Fagin along with Jodie Prenger as Nancy, and Burn Gorman as Bill Sikes. The astounding score is full of Lionel Bart's irresistible songs including Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, You've Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two, I'd Do Anything, Oom Pah Pah, As Long As He Needs Me and many more.

All Oliver Tickets are available on The Online Ticket Shop.

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Oliver!, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Cameron Mackintosh presents his triumphant new staging of Lionel Bart's masterpiece Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which was last seen at the Palladium in 1994. Oliver! is one of the most beloved British musicals, vividly bringing to life Dickens' timeless characters with its ever popular story of the boy who asked for more. The new production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is even more spectacular than ever before, starring Omid Djalili as Fagin, Jodie Prenger (winner of the BBC's I'd Do Anything) and a cast and orchestra of over one hundred. The sensational score is full of Lionel Bart's irresistible songs including Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, You've Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two, I'd Do Anything, Oom Pah Pah, As Long As He Needs Me and many more.Joining them is Burn Gorman from BBC's Torchwood as Bill Sykes. Row A in the Balcony is restricted view by a handrail. Rows U to ZZ in the Stalls may have an obscured view due to the Dress Circle overhang. Please note: Sickness and holiday permitting, Jodie Prenger performs on Monday and Tuesday evenings, Wednesday matinees, Friday evenings and both performances on Saturday. Jodie Prenger will be on holiday from the 14th to the 19th September inclusive. Leading Australian actress Tamsin Carroll (who played the role of Nancy in the 2002 Australian production of Oliver!) will play the role of Nancy on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Jodie Prenger is contracted to appear until the 12th December 2009. Omid Djalili plays the role of Fagin and is contracted to appear until the 12th December 2009.