Dance Centre Kenya to stage musical Oliver!

This internationally acclaimed musical takes audiences on a wild adventure through Victorian England, following the story of young, orphaned Oliver Twist as he navigates London’s underworld replete with theft and violence in search of a home, a family, and most importantly, love.

Based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, the book was adapted for the stage by Lionel Bart, who also composed the music and wrote the lyrics. The musical premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the West End, where it enjoyed a record-breaking long run and became a huge hit, winning several awards including the Tony Award for Best Original Score.

It has since been performed all over the world and has been adapted into a successful film and television series. The timeless story of Oliver Twist and his journey continues to captivate audiences of all ages.

“Oliver! is a show that will inspire all of us to dream bigger and believe that absolutely anything is possible,” DCK said.

The show, directed by Cooper Rust with the assistance of Caroline Slot and May Ombara, will feature live music by Safaricom Youth Orchestra led by musical director Levi Wataka.

The lead role of Oliver! will be played by Abdoulaye Diebate, with Benji Mudondo as the Artful Dodger, Mazuruni Khan as Nancy, and Alex Stow as Bill Sykes, and guest performers like John Sibi-Okumu, David Mwenje and Njeri Kiereini.

Founded in 2015, DCK is one of the leading dance schools in Kenya with over 500 students taking classes in three studios and 1 000 more enrolled in DCK-taught classes in 20 schools in Nairobi.

Through its sponsorship programme, DCK has been able to introduce the joys of theatre art to children from poor backgrounds who are unable to pay for training.

For ticketing information, contact Dance Centre Kenya at [email protected] or call 254 (0) 713 930 549/705 383 603.