Neil Morrissey talks to John Byrne about his upcoming run at Dublin’s Board Gais Energy Theatre as Fagin in a new production of the legendary musical Oliver!
Neil Morrisey is physically in Leeds, but his heart’s Dublin. The star of Men Behaving Badly and many other TV shows (including, of course, a stint as the voice of Bob the Builder) is preparing for the night’s performance of Oliver! at Leeds Grand Theatre & Opera House but, talking to RTÉ TEN, he’s already very excited about the prospect of bringing Lionel Bart’s much-loved musical to Dublin’s Bord Gais Energy Theatre for a run that will cover pre-Christmas and into the New Year.
As well as being a theatre staple since it first arrived in London’s West End back in 1960, Oliver! also became a hugely successful movie in 1968 thanks to the mix of Dickens’ timeless characters with Lionel Bart’s sensational score including songs such as Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, and You’ve Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two.
Morrissey was just six-years-old when Oliver! hit the cinemas, but his memories of the movie, starring Mark Lester in the lead role and Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger, are strong. “I remember seeing the film around about 1970 when I was about seven or eight-years-old,” he recalls. “How could it not have an impact? It was one of those movies that was played and played over the Christmas period.
“So in terms of movies that are instilled from a young age it’s definitely been there a long time. It was a great picture. It’s one of the feelgood movies that you could watch over and over again. A story penned by Dickens and music penned by Lionel Bart? It’s one of those ‘x factor’ moments that will resonate over the decades, and will continue to do so, without a doubt.”
And playing Fagin obviously has an appeal. In the original film adaptation by David Lean in 1948, Alec Guinness was both outstanding and spooky as the man who led a group of young lads into thievery. Later, Ron Moody was also outstanding in the 1968 film version of Oliver!, while the various theatrical productions have seen many great actors fill Fagin’s despicable boots.
“Really, he’s one of the classical roles in British musical theatre - if not the best role, certainly one of them,” says Morrissey, who succeeded Brian Conley in the role. “And it was obviously crafted by Dickens and then made into the musical character by Lionel Bart, and it some of the best tunes in the show . . .” But. I hear a but in Morrissey’s voice. It’s Fagin the person. “It’s a great dilemma, a personal dilemma to play someone who’s recruiting children to steal for him so he can make a nice living.”
Neil Morrissey might seem a strange choice to portray Fagin – after all, he’s more noted for comedy than anything else, although his varied West End theatre work includes Speed, Robin Hood, The Daughter In-Law, Guys and Dolls and A Passionate Woman – but he feels it’s typical of the show’s producer.
“One thing you have to do is to congratulate Cameron Mackintosh for the diversity of people that he’s given the role to," he says. "People such as Rowan Atkinson, Russ Abbott and Brian Conley, Jonathan Pryce - Bob Lindsay got an Olivier for it. That’s testament to Mackintosh’s attitude to the part, which is allowing people to bring something different to the role.
“There’s a great diversity in the way that people have played it over the years. In a sense, it’s an honour to be on the list. It’s a difficult part to nail but once you’ve got it it’s a lot of fun. I mean you have to have the charm of the child catcher and the pied piper along with the evil of the Fagin character, the Machiavellian evil character that’s in the Dickens’ book.”
The cast of Oliver! perform Consider Yourself
And, as we’ve known for some time, the devil has all the good tunes. Neil Morrissey’s dying to tell this anecdote; I can hear it in his voice.
“I came out the stage door last night,” he recalls with a few laughs and a chuckle, “and there was a kid who must have been no more than four or five years-old, he was with his parents, and he came running towards me as I came out the stage door, shouting ‘Consider yourself - our friend!’"
Morrissey neither confirms or denies that the child also lifted the actor's wallet in the process, but this is a moot point. The kid was obviously hooked.
"So this is the effect it has on people and generation after generation, they’re just real toe-tappers and you just get into it very quickly," Morrissey says. "We have a 16-piece orchestra, and some fantastic arrangements,” he adds, enthusiastically. “We’ve got the full package here. It’s fantastic.”
And, so he reckons, is Dublin, and we can’t even consider arguing with that point given the guy’s enthusiasm about crossing the Irish Sea and swapping pounds for Euro.
“Everyone’s looking forward to it,” Morrissey insists when asked about the run at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. “It’s slightly exotic because we’ve been playing places such as Norwich, Plymouth and Newcastle or Leeds. They’re all beautiful theatres but the idea of being over in Dublin for Christmas and New Year has everyone tingling a little bit. We’re all looking forward to it. Oh, and I’m very au fait with the Euro.”
Oliver! opens at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin on December 12th and runs until January 12th
