School brings classic tale to the stage

The much loved classic Oliver!, is about to hit the stage at the Theatre Royal. This heart rendering story, delivered by the enthusiastic cast from Nelson Youth Theatre Company, is sure to appeal to all ages.

Charles Dickens’ unforgettable characters will burst into life, taking the audience back to a time of poverty, orphans, overcoming life’s challenges, love and friendship.

The show is packed with jubilant songs, including You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two, Consider Yourself, Where is Love?, Oliver, That’s your Funeral, As Long As He Needs Me, Oom Pah Pah, and the scrumptious Food, Glorious Food. Audiences are invited to get into the spirit of Oliver!, singing along with their favourite tunes, toe tapping and possibly dabbing a few tears along the way.

There are 33 young people in the cast, the youngest being Michael Phelan, seven and the eldest two who play lead roles are aged 18.

The youth group last staged Oliver! in 2010, with several of the cast appearing again this year. Jake Danson appeared in that production in the lead role as Oliver, and plays both Fagin and Mr Bumble this time around.

Another significant for Jake is that this will be his final show with the company.

‘‘I’ve come full circle, Oliver is my first and last show, after about seven years with the company,’’ says Jake. ‘‘I’m really grateful to Richard (Carruthers) for seeing my potential and getting me into the role of Oliver back in 2010. I’d like to say thank you to him, he puts in a lot of work for the group, and is often not recognised for it.’’

This is Jake’s last year at Nelson College, then he plans to follow a career in either acting on stage and/or screen or radio broadcasting.

Youth Theatre director, Richard Carruthers, who was celebrated earlier this year with a Queen’s Service Medal is low-key about his awards, while full of praise for the achievements of his talented group of youth actors.

‘‘I’ve been honoured with a Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) for services to theatre and osteopathy, but these are both fields in which I feel very lucky to be able to be doing what I love,’’ says Carruthers. ‘‘From the 2010 production, six actors have now gone on to train professionally in performing arts careers; Ben Chambers, Paul Williams, Comfrey Sanders, Doug Colling, Annabella Garwood and Hamish McIntosh.’’