Oliver Twist – Review – Hull Truck Theatre
By Karl Hornsey, December 2025
Hull Truck’s seasonal offering this year is Oliver Twist, advertised as ‘a family classic with a festive twist’, and that’s a wonderfully accurate description of this production, directed by Mark Babych and adapted by Deborah McAndrew from Charles Dickens’ novel. And faithfully adapted, too. Which, I feel, makes watching this show an even more pleasurable experience. Eschewing the need for a traditional panto this year, it’s a brave decision by Hull Truck, but one that works and deserves to pay off handsomely.
Upon hearing that Oliver Twist was being brought to the stage, my first thought was of it being a little sordid and gritty for this time of year but, with a few festive tweaks here and there, it really does work. The harsh, even barbaric, realities of life in the workhouses and on the streets of London are integral to the story, and included here in all their shocking grimness. In the wrong hands, there’s a danger of the story being too dark for children, or too whimsical for adults with the comic scenes and characters, but all involved, off stage and on, ensure the balance here is just right.
“Faultless performances”
Dickens’ novel may be almost 200 years old, but many of its messages and the themes at its heart are still relevant today, as with many of the great author’s other works, and the hope and kindness that shines through is worth remembering. The actors from Hull Truck’s Young Company make every difference in getting those messages across, and deserve a huge amount of credit for their faultless performances, in a little under two hours in which the story never flags. Andrew Whitehead and Alison Fitzjohn, each playing several characters, provide much of the light relief, helping to transport the hypocrisy of the times from Dickens’ page to Hull’s stage.
As with any production, the music and set are integral to its success, and this is a simple set that is used to great effect, with lighting helping to shift the mood from dark to light, and the high walkway giving the actors two levels on which to work. The mix of traditional carols and original songs by composer John Biddle are wonderfully melded together, never too dark, and often helping to move the storyline along. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this production, and it’s something of a mix of David Lean’s Oliver Twist and the Oscar-winning musical Oliver!, and the highest praise I can offer is that it takes the best of both, producing a truly memorable and thoroughly uplifting experience. Please sir, can we have some more?
images: Tom Arran Photo
Karl’s love of writing was piqued at the age of eight, when he won a Blue Peter badge in an essay-writing competition. The location of said badge might be a mystery now, but the memory never fades. Hours spent writing about sport as a teenager, in pre-internet years when you had to make your entertainment, honed his skills, and Karl has worked in TV and radio listings at PA Media for 28 years, and the age of hybrid working means 50% of that can be at home listening to Classic FM and thinking about his next visit to his beloved Yorkshire Dales.
@KarlHornsey, hornskar
