Oliver! | 2025 West End opening night with Cameron Mackintosh, Matthew Bourne and more

A star-studded opening night took place at the Gielgud Theatre for the West End return of Oliver! on 14 January 2025. Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, the new revival began its life at Chichester Festival Theatre last summer and has now successfully transferred to London, garnering the full five stars from WhatsOnStage's lead critic Sarah Crompton. She describes the show as a "richly realised triumph". Following the cutain call, we were whisked onto the stage to chat to Bourne and Mackintosh, alongside Simon Lipkin (who plays Fagin), Shanay Holmes (Nancy), Billy Jenkins (The Artful Dodger) and Cian Eagle-Service (who took the honour of playing Oliver Twist on opening night). Find out what they had to say about bringing the much-loved classic back to the West End, evolving the characters and the tangled history with another Mackintosh juggernaut by the name of Les Misérables in the video below: Adapted from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist by Lionel Bart, Oliver! follows an orphaned boy of the same name as he escapes the confines of the workhouse and finds refuge in the city’s underworld. Tunes include “Food Glorious Food”, “Consider Yourself”, ”You’ve Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two”, and “As Long As He Needs Me.” Also appearing in the West End cast are Aaron Sidwell (as Bill Sikes), Oscar Conlon-Morrey (as Mr Bumble), Katy Secombe (as Widow Corney), Stephen Matthews (as Mr Sowerberry/Dr Grimwig), Jamie Birkett (as Mrs Sowerberry/Mrs Bedwin), Philip Franks (as Mr Brownlow), and Billy Byers (as alternate Artful Dodger). The role of Oliver Twist is shared by Eagle-Service, Raphael Korniets, Jack Philpott and, from the end of January, by Odo Rowntree-Bailly. Forming the young adult cast are Callum Hudson (Noah Claypole), Isabelle Methven (Bet), Lochlan White (Charley Bates) and Harry Cross (Dandy). The ensemble members/swings are: Rachael Archer, Tegan Bannister, Adam Boardman, Lois Craig, Stephen John Davis, Bethany Huckle, Ebony Jonelle, Bethan Keens (Charlotte), Danny Lane, Peter Nash, Josh Patel-Foster, Sam Peggs, Jasmine Sakyiama, Wendy Somerville (Old Sally), Charlie Stripp, Leah Vassell and Matthew Whennell-Clark. Following a nationwide search, the younger roles in Fagin’s gang are shared by Toba Agbelusi, Zoe Akinyosade, Ben Birch, Preston Cropp, Kylan Michael Denis, Sebastian Elton, Liam Findlay, Rudy Gibson, Stanley Guy, George Hamblin, Lily Hanna, Sammy Jones, Grace King, Jonny Niland, Hugo Pechey, Alex Prior, Teddy Probets, William Skinner, Ethan Sokontwe, Dylan Xavier and Aaron Zhao. Also on the creative team are co-director Jean-Pierre van der Spuy, designer Lez Brotherston, musical supervisor and conductor Graham Hurman, lighting designers Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs, sound designer Adam Fisher, and projection designer George Reeve, with original orchestrations by William David Brohn, orchestral adaptation by Stephen Metcalfe, choreographic associates Etta Murfitt and Sam Archer, casting directors Felicity French and Paul Wooller and children’s casting director Verity Naughton.