Jen Dodds: Review of Oliver Twist at Leeds Playhouse (with BSL)

I really, really love going to the theatre.  I love to sit back, soak up the atmosphere and watch the on-stage action.  I just love it!

To watch Jen’s review in BSL, click play below, or scroll down to continue in English!

I don’t get much chance to go though, sadly, as I live in West Yorkshire, where there aren’t exactly loads of interpreted theatre performances, let alone theatre in BSL.

So, when I saw that a BSL based adaptation of Oliver Twist was on at Leeds Playhouse, I jumped at the chance to buy tickets for myself and my son.  We went along with two friends, and all of us enjoyed it very much indeed.

The whole way through, I was gripped.  I should point out it wasn’t the musical version, but an adaptation of the classic story, which is actually quite grim.  Leeds Playhouse’s recommended age for audiences is 11+… my son and his friend are both 11, and were taken aback by some aspects of the story, but it made for some good conversations, and all was well.  It’s not suitable for younger children who get scared easily, though.

Honestly, it was just fantastic, so clever and thought provoking.  I won’t give anything away, because I don’t want to spoil it for you – you should go and see it yourself if you can – I really recommend it!  

There were six Deaf actors in the main roles; some of them very experienced actors and some were newbies; all of them were brilliant.  In fact, all of the cast, which was a mixture of deaf, hearing and disabled actors, were amazing! Just spot on. Oh, and the set looked quite basic and simple, but was actually really clever, too!

So, if you can go, do go!  They’re on tour around the country until 6th June and there’s more info here: https://www.rampsonthemoon.co.uk/show/oliver-twist/