Ever wondered what happened to Oliver Twist, the boy who wanted more? We all know the tale of the rag-tag pickpocket from Dickens’ famous novel, but have you ever taken a second to think about what happened next to the famously greedy little sod?

Twisted tells the story of Oliver Twist (now Oliver Brownlow) fifteen years on as he tackles his late twenties and inevitably falls in love. However, life isn’t as rosy as you may think, and all sorts of characters from Oliver’s past come into play as he navigates his way through some shady situations. The markets of Dickensian London may have changed a little over the years, but The Artful Dodger and his crew of misfits definitely still have Oliver’s back.

Theatre at the Mill’s Home Spun Youth Theatre do a fantastic job in staging the premiere of this new musical by local musician Esler Burke, and with orchestration by Mark Dougherty and musical Supervision by Wilson Shield the music really does shine through.

With 21 original songs and a live eight piece band, Twisted is a feat to be proud of from start to finish, and after being five years in the making it’s great to see a local piece of theatre come to fruition after such dedication and hard work.

With a cast of around thirty young actors and actresses, as well as a few more seasoned performers thrown in, everything from the singing and dancing to the music and stage set was beyond impressive for a first performance of a brand new musical. The cockney accents were great, the singing even better and I think the true testament is that I’m still humming a few songs today as I write this review.

Honourable mention goes to Lucy McMath (who plays Oliver’s love interest Jane) and her impeccable London accent, Jamie Young (who plays Oliver) and his sheer command of the stage, and Robbie McMinn (who plays the Artful Dodger) and his mischievous charm. It’s not often you get the pleasure of witnessing a new stage production like this, and it’s made all the better by the fact that it’s local all the way through.

Twisted will run at the Theatre at the Mill until 24th February. To book tickets or to find out more information click here. 

Laura Caldwell

Author: Laura Caldwell

Hi, I'm Laura. I'm 30 years old and have a degree in Journalism with Photo-Imaging at the University of Ulster. I have an undying love for Belfast and all that it has to offer, an undying love for sleeping, Tegan and Sara, trashy tv shows, foreign snack-foods and being irresponsible with money. I also quite like origami, reading, jazz, hip-hop, dubstep, anything acoustic and Food Network TV. I've written for The Big List, Culture NI, Chatterbox and The Echo, as well as writing for BBC Across the Line.