Dickens goes digital next year as Oliver Twist gets a modern re-telling.
Adapted from author and poet Michael Rosen’s novel, Unexpected Twist is an innovative new musical embarking on a UK tour that takes it to The Lowry, Salford (May 2-7) and Blackpool Grand (May 23-27).
Shona and her class are studying Oliver Twist. She’s new in school and keeps finding herself in trouble – much like Oliver himself! When she’s given a new phone by a stranger, she begins to suspect there’s something fishy about the new kids she’s met...
Adapted for the stage by BAFTA award-winning playwright Roy Williams (Soul, Sucker Punch), with original music by rising R&B star Yaya Bey and BAC Beatbox Academy’s Conrad Murray, Unexpected Twist is produced by The Children’s Theatre Partnership and Royal & Derngate, Northampton, the partnership behind successful stage adaptations of Holes and The Jungle Book.
Michael Rosen said: “I believe in the power and value of live performance and rate it as an equal to all the other literary activities. I can't describe what a thrill it is for me to know Unexpected Twist is going to be a play.
"I've already seen a draft script and it leapt off the page. I could immediately 'see' it as being a funny, tough, edgy, contemporary, powerful show. I'm desperate to see it!”