As the eponymous character Oliver, Harrison Hocken is a delight to watch. He brings out the naïvety of Oliver with a lovely gentleness, not hamming it up, but letting his acting speak for itself as he depicts a young child, lost in the big world and easily misled by those he comes across, as he places trust in the untrustworthy. His voice is just as you would imagine Oliver’s voice to be, with his rendition of Where is Love coming through tunefully and clearly.
As the Artful Dodger, Ruth Hagenson brings a real sense of fun to the role. She’s confident in her voice and movement and owns the stage when she is on it, matching the energy and talent of the older actors around her.
And the stage energy and talent of those (slightly) older actors is absolutely breathtaking.
As Nancy, Bryah Edwin was one of the actors facing the biggest challenge of balancing a children’s musical with a dark plot, charged with convincing the audience of her love for a violent and nasty man, while staying likeable herself.
Bryah rises to this challenge beautifully, bringing a sense of playfulness and light to I’d do anything, and Oom-Pah-Pah, then quickly changing pace and style as she moves into singing As long as he needs me. She makes Nancy’s choices make sense to the audience throughout the show, even when those choices seen hard to understand. Her voice is beautiful to listen to and is matched by her stage presence.
William Broadmore brings the much-maligned Fagin to life, and gives him a more sympathetic, and perhaps more realistic, portrayal than other versions of the character. William is a talented actor, who elevates Fagin out of the more traditional depictions of him as being a slightly seedy, certainly greedy and unpleasant grifter into a more nuanced and conflicted type of petty criminal. Yes he’s greedy, and, when he thinks Oliver has seen his secret stash of jewels, can certainly be scary and threatening, but he’s also scared himself when Bill’s around, and he cares more about Oliver than an all-round baddie would.
The costume department have done a fantastic job in creating William’s costume for Fagin, matching his energy and showmanship to create a truly eyecatching outfit that adds to Fagin’s personality. As Fagin, William brings a sense of fun and mischievousness to the character, moving away from the stereotypical baddie into this more complex character. His energy on stage is great, and at it’s very best in his scenes with the outright baddie, Bill Sikes.
Cormac Deegan offers a masterclass in villainous acting as Bill, sending shivers down the spine at times, bringing a real sense of malevolence to the stage. As he sings My Name, and strides across the stage, it feels as though he has stepped straight out of an 1830s slum in London and onto New Plymouth Repertory’s stage. Sikes is outright evil and Cormac shows real skill in keeping that villainous edge throughout.
His scenes with Fagin work nicely, emphasising his own lack of moral character, while allowing Fagin’s slight morality to come through.
His scenes with Nancy step the show up to a whole new level, however, as we get to see the baddie tormented by his own actions. He almost channels Lady Macbeth, instead of seeing spots of blood, it’s Nancy’s eyes he sees, and can’t stop thinking of, even in his last moments. His character is evil and dark, but in those final moments, Cormac invites the audience to realise that, perhaps, even the darkest of souls has some semblance of humanity after all. That level of nuance, the glimpse of the other side of Sikes is beautifully done, and true to the work of Dickens.
There’s a strong supporting cast as well, with the undertakers Mr and Mrs Sowerberry played by Thomas Grieve and Amelie Tippett bringing some lovely humour into the show, while Alejandro Bellringer’s Noah Claypole is a brilliant bully, and as Charlotte, Arabella Thomson is great fun to watch.
Alfie Healion is convincingly kind and caring as Mr Brownlow, and brings a lovely warmth to his interactions with Oliver, while Jamie Grieve and Catriona Thomson as Mr Bumble and Widow Corney are in their element, bringing humour and plenty of great physicality in their moments on stage.
New Plymouth Repertory is building a strong reputation as bringing some fantastic youth theatre to the stage in Taranaki, so it’s unsurprising that this season of Oliver Jr has already sold out for every show.
Which leads to the question- please New Plymouth Repertory - can we have some more?
Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from across the lower North Island. She has worked for NZME since 2011.
