Inkberrow (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Inkberrow

OUTSTANDING OLIVER: Inkberrow Players deviated from their usual pantomime to bring the village its first musical in the form of Oliver! which played to packed houses for three nights last week at the village hall.

It was a brave move and one which paid off for company and audience alike. The cast tackled the often complex songs with real professionalism and from the smallest of the orphans and Fagin's motley crew, to the lead roles, gave performances which would not have disgraced professional actors. It was good to see some new faces among the company.

Andrew Price in the title role tugged at the heartstrings with his beautiful treble voice and he was ably backed by William James as an irrepressible Artful Dodger. Gary Clubley's Bill Sykes was truly evil-an excellent performance, as was Fagin, a wonderful characterisation by David Ballard who is more usually seen as the pantomime dame. He brought humour, cunning and pathos to the role, his "I'm reviewing the situation" earning a well deserved ovation.

Musicians Margaret Ballard, Gareth Edwards and Andy Robins played non-stop for the duration of the show and providing superb support for the cast, as did terrific costumes and scenery and a really efficient backstage crew.

However, a team is only as good as its leader and Peter Evans has shown himself once again to be a brilliant director, bringing together the many and varied talents from the village to produce a truly enjoyable evening.