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From his evocative character names to the neat-and-tidy coincidences of his plots, author Charles Dickens was clever, pointed in his social commentary — and not known for subtlety. Playwright Neil Bartlett’s quirky, dark adaptation of “Oliver Twist” has great fun living up to all of that.
Through June 7, Foothill Theatre Arts is staging Bartlett’s telling of Dickens’ classic story of an orphan finding his way in life despite the cruel world around him.
The tagline for Foothill’s production of “Oliver Twist” makes it plain that you can consider yourself at something very different from the musical adaptation of Dickens’ novel that most audiences know: “No singing. No dancing. Just the unforgettable original story.”
There’s actually some singing in this telling of Dickens’ classic tale — peppered throughout are short songs performed by the cast that comment on the action. The show takes inspiration from Victorian melodrama, harkening back to a style of theater popular around the same time Dickens made a name for himself.
Foothill’s production digs in with gusto, relating with relish the tale of orphan Oliver Twist and his journey from the workhouse to a gang of young pickpockets on the mean streets of 19th-century London.
Director Francine Torres helms a show where the characters are big, the comedy and drama broad, and there are even supertitles in an old-timey font that add a flourish and help narrate the story.
Guiding audiences into this topsy-turvy world is the Narrator (Tiffany Walters), whose artful affability foretells, in a smart bit of double-casting, one of the story’s most famous characters.
Korwin Rodgers and Susan Hogben set an over-the-top comic tone as Mr. and Mrs. Bumble, the cruel clods who oversee the workhouse where Oliver (Ofer Kranz) spends his earliest years. (Mr. Bumble is the “sir” to whom Oliver addresses his most famous line, “Please sir, I want some more,” as the starving boy seeks more gruel.)
Oliver’s next stop is a place somehow worse than the workhouse, where a short-lived apprenticeship with miserly undertaker Mr. Sowerberry (Nero Montufar) ends with the entire household viciously turning on Oliver.
Kranz is sympathetic as Oliver, keeping a steady and hopeful presence despite all the bullying the character endures.
The boy is soon on the road to London, where he meets Jack Dawkins, AKA the Artful Dodger (Walters), who introduces him to a gang of child and teen pickpockets.
As the rapacious mastermind Fagin, who trains and ultimately exploits the young thieves, Marc Westmalle has the charisma to keep his charges in thrall, but also finds a small spark of humanity that makes his Fagin more intriguing.
Walters brings much-welcome warmth and lightness as the Dodger. When the character appears and begins leading Oliver around looking for marks — including a charming bit of crowdwork — the pieces of this classic tale really fall into place.
Likewise, Amanda Korkunis imbues Nancy, one of the story’s most compassionate if flawed characters, with heart and conflicted bravery.
Lian Malla is appealing as Mr. Brownlow, a kind gentleman whose pocket getting picked becomes a fateful moment for Oliver.
Ron Gasparinetti’s clever set design maximizes the small stage space with full-height walls on three sides and sliding barn doors in the back wall. With the addition of a few props, this onstage room at turns conveys a sense of claustrophobia as a rundown shanty or decrepit workhouse, or coziness, as the well-appointed home of a rare well-meaning family.
With bold plaids, checks and stripes, bowlers, newsboy caps and top hats, Alvina Xu’s wonderfully Victorian costumes highlight each character’s eccentricities, but with muted tones emphasizing the darkness underlying the story.
The show’s pacing is speedy and some scenes, particularly with larger groups, become too frenetic, with overlapping shrieks overwhelming the action.
The pairing of short scenes and high melodrama make it seem at times that Oliver is simply enduring abuse for its own sake, landing in one fraught situation after another with unhinged adults whose enmity toward him doesn’t have much context. But it also demonstrates the speed at which mob mentality can spread; how prejudice against, in this case, destitute people metastasizes into physical and emotional violence — and gives a sense of the confusion a child might experience in these situations.
As Oliver gets shuttled about between the various hazards of Victorian poverty, it’s also plain how little agency the character himself actually has in determining his own fate, though he does always stay true to his good intentions. In spite of many characters’ nonchalance about thieving — some even taking pride in it — this “Oliver Twist” underscores how there was often not much choice for London’s poorest denizens, particularly vulnerable children.
But as Torres’ production notes point out, in the face of extreme cruelty, whether in Victorian London or modern times, there are still always “helpers” who combat the darkness. For all its high drama, grit, (and scarcity of singing and dancing), this show celebrates the compassion and bravery of helpers and the difference they can make.
Foothill Theatre Arts presents “Oliver Twist” through June 7 at Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. $23-$28 ($15-$18 Thursdays); foothill.edu/theatre/shows/2026-oliver-twist.html.
