“Food, glorious food!”, has been on the lips of students at Penrith’s Queen Elizabeth Grammar School as students from across the school staged the hit musical Oliver!, based on Charles Dickens’ book Oliver Twist.
The school hosted four performances, the first a matinee for local primary schools. Three evening performances were sold out to appreciative audiences of parents, students and staff. The Friends of QEGS raised £270 towards school funds from the sale of interval drinks.
The show was directed by QEGS’ head of music, Daniel Roberts, who joined the school in September 2017 and began auditions almost immediately. He chose Oliver! to relaunch QEGS’ tradition of the annual musical, as a tribute to the current Year 13 students, who first performed the show when they were in Year 7. Returning cast members included Kerran Cottrell and Jake Marshall, who portrayed Fagin and Mr Sowerberry respectively this year, and appeared as Oliver and the Artful Dodger in 2012.
Mr Roberts praised the whole cast, saying: “There have been some outstanding performances; nothing short of West End-worthy! Putting on Oliver! has been a wonderful way to settle into my first year at QEGS. I’d like to thank staff, parents and, ultimately, the pupils for making it possible.”
Katie Feltham, who gave a powerful performance as Nancy, the downtrodden wife of villain Bill Sikes, is studying for A-levels in maths, German and history and has applied to read law at Durham university. She said: “I’ve always been involved with the school musicals, it’s something close to my heart. Having been involved before, I know how important the sixth formers are in helping to organise the younger cast members.
“It’s amazing what we’ve got done in such a short time, it really came together – although there were moments where we didn’t think it would!”
Mr Roberts is already making plans for the next production, which will be staged in November, although the show he has chosen is currently a closely guarded secret.
