Alan Stanford, here the adaptor and director of one of Charles Dickens's best-known stories, has set himself a daunting task. Aside from the original novel, there is already an almost universally admired movie, and there is even a phenomenally popular stage and movie musical: precious few members of the audience can come to a new stage adaptation without total knowledge of the story and without preconceptions of earlier interpretations.
Yet Mr Stanford has diligently and intelligently adapted Oliver Twist, necessarily shortening the tale to fit into two-and-a-half hours of traffic upon the stage, taking some necessary liberties with the sprawling narrative, yet keeping almost wholly within the angry sociological intent of the Dickensian original, holding his audience to the main matter in hand and even providing a touching, if sentimental, final curtain.
The evening, inevitably, is melodramatic - its style more often pantomimic than dramatic. The actors must create cameo caricatures in place of characters with any depth or substance, but they do this convincingly enough. There are times when the six boys representing the work-house orphans and Fagin's gang seem as if they simply must break out in a Lionel Bart song, but they successfully overcome their audience's preconditioned instincts, and Oliver Darmody's Oliver, Ciaran O'Brien's Artful Dodger and George McMahon's Charley do just fine with their characterisations. Stephen Brennan's Fagin is his own rather than Alec Guinness's or Ron Moody's, and Robert Price's Bill Sykes, Iain Mitchell's Mr Bumble and Susan FitzGerald's Mrs Corney are all well able to stand on their own creative legs. Bill Golding's Mr Brownlow, like most Brownlows before him, is insufferably caring and considerate (especially in dialogue with his sceptical bigoted friend, Barry Cassin's Grimwig) but the final curtain couldn't have worked without him, and Fiona O'Shaughnessy's Nancy, with her husky cockney voice and strutting determination, is almost a true original.
Bruno Schwengl has provided ingeniously mobile and atmospheric settings, atmospherically lit by Peter Mumford's lighting and, while there will be few surprises for most members of the audience, the evening provides consistent entertainment for many, and a wonderful introduction to the story for those who managed never to see the movie or the musical.
Runs until the end of January, at least. To book phone: 01-874 4045 or 01-874 6042.
