The story follows Oliver Twist, a young orphan in Victorian England who escapes a workhouse and joins a gang of pickpockets led by Fagin. Here he encounters the villain, Bill Sikes who becomes central to Oliver's fate.

The show explores themes of crime and poverty, while mixing humour with darker moments to give an overall message of kindness and hope.

It was initially published in 24 monthly instalments in the magazine 'Bentley's Micellany', with a few chapters at a time.

It is famous for being a powerful criticism of Victorian society with Dickens' own opinions.

Crime - One of the main themes of the show, poverty can push people towards crime, Fagin teaches young pickpockets how to steal and Bill Sikes represents the darker, dangerous side of crime.

Kindness - despite the difficult world for Oliver, there are still characters around him that show compassion towards him, including Brownlow and Nancy, who risked her life for him.

Corruption - Oliver represents innocence in a corrupt world, who struggles with the idea of stealing. He is honest and highlights the difference between good and bad influences.

Some important moments from the book are turned into musical numbers in the show, for example:

• Oliver asks for more food - "Food, Glorious Food"

• The pickpocket training - "Consider Yourself"

• Fagin's life with the boys - "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two"

These songs help the character's personalities using musical key and tone to make the story more entertaining.

Oliver meets the Artful Dodger - this brings him to Fagin's den where he meets the boys who work as pickpockets.

Oliver is arrested - he is falsely blamed for stealing from Mr Brownlow, who later realises his innocence and takes care of him.

Nancy's Fate - Sikes hears that Nancy has been helping Oliver and faces a fatal consequence. This highlights one of the darkest scenes in the show.

Gender: male

Age: 8 to 12

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: A3

Gender: male

Age: 50 to 70

Vocal range top: F4

Vocal range bottom: A2

Fagin's brightest pupil - an undersized 16. Cockney accent. Very energetic, highly personable, intelligent and savvy beyond his years, Fagin’s right hand “man”.

Gender: male

Age: 14 to 18

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: A3

Gender: female

Age: 20 to 25

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: F3

Gender: male

Age: 30 to 45

Vocal range top: D4

Vocal range bottom: A2

Gender: male

Age: 55 to 70

Gender: male

Age: 35 to 60

Vocal range top: Ab4

Vocal range bottom: C3

Gender: female

Age: 40 to 55

Vocal range top: F5

Vocal range bottom: C4

Gender: male

Age: 10 to 18

Gender: male

Age: 45 to 60

Vocal range top: F4

Vocal range bottom: C3

Gender: female

Age: 14 to 18

Vocal range top: G5

Vocal range bottom: Ab3

Gender: male

Age: 30 to 50

Gender: female

Age: 45 to 60

Vocal range top: B4

Vocal range bottom: C4

Gender: female

Age: 18 to 25

The musical portrays the realities of industrial England, including workhouses, petty crime, and poverty.

Lots of the themes of the era can be seen in the show, including social inequalities and crime.

The upper class lived in immense wealth and all the luxuries with staff, servants and slaves to work for them. They often lived in large town house, holding exclusive parties while wearing elaborate fashion items.

For those living in poverty, life was very different, with working people facing filthy, overcrowded slums and high rates of disease such as cholera and tuberculosis. An example of an area where this was seen is Whitechapel, London.

While the middle and upper classes enjoyed newfound prosperity, luxuries, and servants, the working poor faced filthy, overcrowded slums, with high rates of infectious diseases like cholera and tuberculosis in areas like Whitechapel.

Dickens wrote the novel as a direct critique of the social, economic, and moral conditions of that time.

Published between 1837 and 1839, the novel was not written as historical fiction but rather as a contemporary commentary on the issues Charles Dickens witnessed around him.

Each input has it's own channel with it's own fader, EQ and dynamic processing such as compressors and gates. These can be sent to the main stereo bus (the PA) and also separate outputs sometimes called mix buses or bus sends, depending on the mixer.

Mix buses give the functionality of having a separate mix on a separate output. These can be useful for monitoring systems by giving each person a different mix, or for sending stage audio to a different room.

• A transmitter (handheld mic, bodypack)

• A receiver (rack unit)

The transmitter has a microphone attached to it, whether this is a bodypack with a lavalier mic or a handheld with a mic capsule. The digital transmitter then converts the audio signals to a radio signal where the audio is transmitted in 1s and 0s. The receiver receives this signal and unpacks the data back into an audio signal where it is outputted to be connected to a mixer.

Wireless microphones operate on specific radio frequency bands and this can vary based on location.

It is also important to keep on top of battery levels to ensure the transmitter doesn't run out of battery mid show.

Radio mics- 20

As many as possible – 34 in cast

MTI Player

Next, a meeting with the director and other designers is held to share ideas and allow the sound designer to see the overall artistic vision of the production.

After this it is time to research and gather sounds. This can be from sound libraries, online or personal (depending on how long you have been in the role) or creating your own sounds with foley.

As the show comes together, a QLab file is built to program all the cues and timings for the show. This is brought into rehearsals and is finalised before the show opens.

According to mtishows.co.uk, Oliver! The Musical includes 17 main roles with a varying ensemble. The ensemble can adapt to be the workhouse boys, workhouse assistants, bow street runners, street vendors and crowd.

The poor endured extreme poverty, living in the most overcrowded conditions in filthy slums known as rookeries. Families often shared single, damp rooms with as many as 30 families in the same room. They worked 12–14 hour days in factories or as street sellers. Widespread disease, malnutrition, and high mortality rates were common.

The workhouses were brutal prison-like institutions designed to deter the poor from seeking help. They provided food, water and shelter in exchange for hard labour with inhumane, dangerous conditions. Families were often separated. Workhouses were seen as a last resort for the poor until the 1930s.

Wireless microphone transmitters will be worn by cast members with speaking lines and these will be organised with a microphone plot.

Directional paddle antennas will be rigged above head height above the stage to allow clear signal transmission with minimal interference.

Workhouse - The show starts in the workhouse where sounds such as metal clanging, doors slamming and machinery noise can be heard.

Crime/Action - During some more intense scenes like those at the end of Act 1 and 2, they could be sounds such as police whistles, running footsteps and crowd reactions.

This period of time is often associated with large steaming exhaust towers, foggy skies and dirty, grimy conditions.

Equipment List - outlines all the audio equipment that is needed for the production, including microphones, speakers, mixers, audio interfaces and playback machines.

Signal Flow Diagram - a diagram that easily displays the audio signal flow and how it travels through the system.

QLab File - a laid out, polished QLab file with all the sound effects, tracks and/or projections all with final timings and cues.

A key difference is that the musical cuts some of the side characters and plot details in order to make the story shorter, simpler and easier to follow. The show also adds more humour rather than a strict drama, while keeping the darker more serious moments.

It is famous for it's memorable performances and for being one of the last big classic Hollywood-style musical films of the 1960s.

Gender: female

Age: 45 to 60

Vocal range top: F5

Vocal range bottom: C4

Gender: male

Age: 18 to 25

The production closed on 8 January 2011, replaced at the theatre by the original West End production of Shrek the Musical.