OLIVER REVIEW
Consider Oliver! to be a rip-roaring success
The musical Oliver! first arrived in London's West End in 1960 and ran for almost 3,000 performances, but it is now enthralling new audiences thanks to a revival which began in January 2009.
One of Britain's most beloved shows, it features a little boy - the eponymous Oliver - who is an orphan in a workhouse in Victorian London until he finds himself cast out after he dares to ask for more gruel.
The poor youngster finds himself caught up in a world of pickpocketing and burglary, populated by dishonest characters like Fagin and The Artful Dodger.
However, he also finds friendship and a mother figure in kindly Nancy, who has also become embroiled in London's underbelly after falling in love with career criminal Bill Sykes.
London theatre fans will love the suspense and villainy contained in the plot - will Oliver ever escape his unhappy existence and reclaim his childhood?
Oliver! is based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, but the stage version perhaps delights even more thanks to its array of lively and well-known songs.
These include Food, Glorious Food, Consider Yourself and I'd Do Anything, most of which theatregoers are sure to recognise and be able to hum or sing along to.
And the appeal of Oliver has not just been confined to audiences - critics love it too.
BBC Radio 2's Terry Wogan called it "the finest production I've ever seen on the West End stage", while the Sunday Express's Mark Shenton predicted that it is sure to remain a favourite for many years to come.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times recently called Oliver! "a musical masterpiece".
With all this praise, as well as the fact that the show took £15 million in advance bookings before it even re-opened in 2009, it should perhaps come as no surprise that Oliver! was given a prestigious Best Musical Revival gong at the Olivier Awards in 2010.
Why not buy theatre tickets for it today and Consider Yourself a fan too?