ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

OLIVER! Music and lyrics: Lionel Bart

Direction: Sheryl Haydock-Howarth Musical Direction: Claire Sweeney Choreography: Natalie Bowden New Mills Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society To celebrate their 100th anniversary, New

Mills Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society staged Lionel Bart’s masterpiece ‘Oliver!’ A show known and loved by young and old and one to which the audiences of New Mills gave a well deserved standing ovation on the night of my visit. This production was the group’s fourth production of the musical in their 100 years.

With a 50-strong cast it’s hard to mention everyone in a report like this, so apologies if you think that I have overlooked you. That certainly isn’t the case, and I realise all the hard work which has gone into bringing so much joy in front of the footlights. This was my first visit to their home, the New Mills Art Theatre, and what a gorgeous little chocolate box of a theatre it is! The fact was not lost on me that when I last saw a professional production of ‘Oliver!’ I was sitting on these very same seats at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, who donated some of their seats during their renovation to various local theatre and groups – one of the lucky recipients being New Mills. A very warm welcome was received by the society President Colin Brown, who looked after my guest and I most warmly throughout the very cold November evening. Natalie Bowden’s choreography, at times, felt a little lost on the stage – due to the size of the set and the stage itself. When filled with such a wonderfully large cast, some of the bigger numbers of the show were quite restricted in terms of movement, ‘Consider Yourself ’ and ‘Oom Pah Pah’ in particular. She worked well with the space she had and numbers with reduced cast such as, ‘You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket,’ ‘It’s