Oliver Twist musical at Theatr Harlech

Sep 4 2008 By Daniel Bissett

THE musical loosely based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens is to be performed by Harlech Quin Community Theatre.

Oliver! will be staged at Theatr Harlech on Saturday, September 6, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

The musical, which first appeared in theatres back in 1960, is the first fully-staged show of its type by the community theatre with a large cast of local actors, singers and dancers drawn from across the region.

There had been two previous Dickens musicals in the 1950s, both of them television adaptations of A Christmas Carol, but the dramatic story of Oliver Twist was the first Dickens work to be presented as a successful stage musical.

The plot of Dickens’ original novel is considerably simplified for the purposes of the musical, with Fagin being represented more as a comic character than as a villain, and large portions of the latter part of the story being completely left out.

The committed and highly- talented cast are led by professional music director Tim Hardy, his orchestra and director Clare Williams.

For further details, call (01766) 780667 or go to www.theatrharlech.com