RSTC visited a new venue - Chichester Festival Theatre - to see the new production of Lionel Bart's 'Oliver'.

85 members travelled to Chichester to see a new production of Oliver. 
After having a couple of hours to have a look around Chichester - especially the resplendent Cathedral - and have a bite of lunch, we made the short trip to the Festival Theatre to see the matinee performance.
Chichester Festival Theatre opened in 1962 and was designed as a 'theatre in the round' - well, almost! Its 3-level revolving stage allows stage designers plenty of scope and challenges.
This brand new production of Oliver was presented by Cameron Mackintosh with design by Lez Brotherston and choreography by Matthew Bourne. It is scheduled to transfer to the West End's Geilgud Theatre in December 2024.
This classic Lionel Bart masterpiece proceeded at a fast pace with almost all of the musical numbers being well-known - at least to the older generation. Making full use of the advanced stage facilities, the setting of the musical was quite amazing with each scene smoothly transitioning into the next. The cast - led by the devious Fagin (Simon Lipkin), the Artful Dodger, Nancy (Shanay Holmes) and, of course, Oliver Twist all performed brilliantly to provide a thoroughly entertaining afternoon for all.