Grand Theatre Review: Oliver, with a modern Twist

Presented by The Children’s Theatre Partnership and Royal & Derngate, Northampton, it brought right up to date through the medium of rap and beatboxing.

When their finances plummet, motherless Shona and her dad are forced to move house and school. To keep on side with her new found school pals, Shona accepts a gift of a mobile phone, but it isn’t long before she discovers that in life there are no free rides and getting back on the straight and narrow is not easy as she thought.

Meanwhile her English class are reading Dicken’s Oliver Twist as part of their studies and before long, comparisons between the story and the here and now begin to emerge.

Does it feel slightly disrespectful to take an iconic storyline and create a rap musical set in the present day? No way. The subject matter remains the same; extreme poverty, child-exploitation, theft, and domestic violence but instead of the workhouse, stealing wallets, and a brutal villain, it is simply a case of loss of benefits, dogy mobile phones, drugs, and cohesive control.

Like Oliver Twist, this tale, based on Michael Rosen’s novel, is sad.

But Yaya Bey and Conrad Murray’s unique musical score instantly transforms the piece up to the minute, with a fresh, edgy vibe performed to absolute perfection by an uber-talented young cast.