Oliver! Review 2009

What the popular press had to say.....

CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "A cracking night of tuneful entertainment...It's absolutely fantastic showbiz."

MICHAEL BILLINGTON for THE GUARDIAN says, " Although this is sanitised Dickens, Bart manages to write some thumping good tunes...Rowan Atkinson turns in a sprightly, distinctive performance...Jodie Prenger as Nancy ...acquits herself extremely well."

QUENTIN LETTS for THE DAILY MAIL says, "Rowan Atkinson, playing that warped scout master Fagin, was the eyebrow-wriggling, funny-walking, laugh-wringing supremo of the show...Jodie Prenger, who won the part of the doomed, decent Nancy in a primetime BBC1 talent show, stands up to the test like a sturdy galleon...Anyone who needs cheering up should get along to Drury Lane sharpish and catch this humdinger of a night."

MICHAEL COVENEY for THE INDEPENDENT says, "Well, is it a great musical? Yes. Is Rowan Atkinson any good as Fagin? Fairly good, fairly funny, but he can't sing very well... [Jodie Prenger] Her voice is okay, but she can't act and she doesn't have the depth of lung power to fill a plastic bag, let alone a West End theatre on a nightly basis...A masterpiece is restored, but not in its fullest glory."

BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "Jodie Prenger...went on to prove herself a tough, coarse, credible presence with a big, robust voice...Oliver! remains as good and revivable as anything he [Bart] wrote."

NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "I felt director Rupert Goold, came up with a traditional, unadventurous Oliver."

External links to full reviews from popular press
The Independent
The Guardian
Daily Mail
The Times
Daily Telegraph