BRAND NEW ADAPTATION OF CHARLES DICKENS’ CLASSIC NOVEL OLIVER TWIST COMES TO BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE AS PART OF A NATIONAL TOUR
A Leeds Playhouse production in co-production with Ramps on the Moon
4* The Stage
‘Disabled people are still woefully under-represented in the arts, but Amy Leach’s production offers an entertaining, embracive, necessary corrective’
A brand-new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist comes to Birmingham Repertory Theatre from Wednesday 29 April – Saturday 9 May 2020 as part of a national tour.
This bold, brutal and beautiful new version of Oliver Twist sends audiences on a dark adventure through the twisted streets of London. Adapted by award-winning playwright Bryony Lavery, every performance of Oliver Twist will feature the use of integrated creative sign language, audio description and captioning.
Born into poverty and misfortune, Oliver Twist escapes the workhouse for a life of adventure where he joins Artful Dodger, Fagin and their mischievous gang of pick pockets. But the enjoyment is short lived as he falls under the influence of the vicious Bill Sikes.
The REP is part of Ramps on the Moon a consortium of seven major UK theatres, plus partner company Graeae, committed to putting D/deaf and disabled artists and audiences at the centre of their work. Each year, one consortium organisation becomes the lead producing partner creating a large-scale new production which champions diversity both on and off stage. Previous Ramps on the Moon productions include Our Country’s Good, The Who’s Tommy and The Government Inspector.
Integrating disabled and non-disabled performers and practitioners, this programme aims to achieve a step change in the employment and artistic opportunities for disabled performers and creative teams, and a cultural change in the participating organisations to enable accessibility to become a central part of their thinking and aesthetics.
Oliver Twist is directed by Leeds Playhouse’s Associate Director Amy Leach (The Night Before Christmas, Hamlet, Road, Romeo & Juliet). It stars Brooklyn Melvin in the role of Oliver, aided and abetted by a gang of wily pickpockets led by the Artful Dodger, played by Nadeem Islam, who is best known for presenting the BBC’s See Hear series, and Caroline Parker MBE as Fagin (Our Country’s Good, Ramps on the Moon and Nottingham Playhouse UK Tour).
Director Amy Leach comments “Oliver Twist is a vivid, dark and visceral story and I am so excited to explore how adding artistic layers of creative sign language, audio description and captioning can enhance the story-telling for all audience members. Oliver Twist gives the integrated ensemble cast of D/deaf, disabled and non-disabled actors the opportunity to play a brilliantly varied range of characters and showcase a wide range of talents.”
Every performance of Oliver Twist will feature integrated creative sign language, audio description and captioning. Recommended age 11+
OLIVER TWIST runs at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from Wednesday 29 April – Saturday 9 May 2020. Tickets are priced from £15. Weekday matinees from £10. To book tickets telephone 0121 236 4455 or online at www.birmingham-rep.co.uk
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