The Watermill Theatre, Newbury’s summer musical will be a brand new production of Lionel Bart’s multi award-winning musical Oliver!, opening on Friday 31 July until Saturday 19 September (press night is Thursday 6 August). Tickets are on general sale from Monday 27 April.
Directed by Luke Sheppard, The Watermill’s trademark actor-musicians will bring a new twist to Bart’s much-loved musical adaption of Charles Dickens’ classic novel, with London’s murky Victorian underworld reimagined in the rural theatre’s atmospheric converted mill.
For the first time, the professional company will be joined by a supporting cast of aspiring performers from The Watermill Youth Theatre and children from the local community, as part of the theatre’s ongoing outreach work dedicated to developing and nurturing emerging young talent.
Oliver! is designed by Tom Rogers, with lighting design by Howard Hudson and musical supervision and arrangements by Paul Herbert, who as recipient of the Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer Award, was based at The Watermill last year. Oliver! is adapted from William David Brohn’s original orchestrations and presented by arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh and the Southbrook Group.
Luke Sheppard most recently directed the world premiere production of Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ at Leicester’s Curve theatre, the European premiere of In the Heights (Southwark Playhouse) and was associate director for Matilda (RSC). Other productions he has directed include The History Boys (South Hill Park), Next Fall, 101 Dalmatians and The Adventures of Pinocchio (Castle Theatre) and Soho Cinders (Arts Ed). As associate director, Sheppard has worked on Singin’ in the Rain (Palace Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre), and as assistant director on Into the Woods (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).
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