Anna Burnside reviews ‘a cheery way to pass a lunchtime’.
Cor blimey guv, it’s summer panto season and me old mucker Charlie D’s turn to have his fine words used as the basis for gags about Clydebank and gratuitous flirting with some poor guy in the front row.
Writer and director Andy McGregor shoehorns as many traditions has he can into an hour. Nancy (Fraser Boyle) becomes the dame, Jammy Dodger (Dani Heron) is principal boy and Phil Pikes (Darren Brownlie) is the baddie. Oliver (Elena Redmond) is neither the wee daft laddie nor the love interest but three out of four is not bad.
Jammy and Nancy are about to be evicted by evil rent collector Pikes and enlist the help of sweet young Oliver to pickpocket their way back to solvency.
Some of the best comedy moments are the bell-voiced Redmond asking Fagin why he’s wearing lipstick (because Boyle is doubling as Nancy) and a running joke where Brownlie, doubling as Oliver’s benefactor, pronounces his vowels incorrectly.
“Eauliver” he beseeches the young lad with increasing urgency.
On day two of a three week run there were still rough edges. Jokes about low budgets and tiny casts have become as much a part of Scottish panto as fart gags. Here, they were funny because they were true.
Oliver is not going to challenge Cinders or Aladdin any time soon but when this settles into itself and Brownlie gets the hang of his cues it will be a cheery way to pass a lunchtime.
Oliver in a Twist performs at Oran Mor until July 19, 2025. For further details, go to the company’s website.
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