Kim was lucky enough to see Sarah as Nancy on the 6th of May - 2009, YAY. Here is her review, Enjoy..
Oliver - 06/05/2009
On Wednesday 6th May, I trekked up to London to see a certain Miss Lark treading the boards of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane playing Nancy. How ironic, it seems, that it was almost a year to the day that Sarah got voted off I'd do anything, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's quest to find Nancy, which was ultimately won by Jodie Prenger. However with Jodie on holiday and the understudy, Tamzin Carroll doing just six shows this week,Sarah Lark stepped into her shoes, and I am mighty glad that I was there to see it. Theatre Royal Drury Lane,the biggest and most haunted theatre in the West End is an imposing sight, it's HUGE! Just off Covent Garden it's easy to find and very hard to miss, as we walked in, a massive crowd had already gathered, but not enough for me to notice the at this performance sign, and there it was Nancy - Sarah Lark. Looking up I saw Fagin - Rowan Atkinson, who if the truth be told I was just as excited to be seeing, to me he's a comedy genius, and one of his shows, Mr Bean being a favourite of mine. Also performing we had Burn Gorman as Bill Sykes, James Donaghey as Oliver and Ross McCormack as Artful Dodger.
After climbing about a million stares and being greeted by 400 school children, all there supporting fellow pupil Ross we finally took to our seats. I don't want to ruin anything for those who haven't seen the show, but it is amazing.I guarantee you'll be hooked from "Food, glorious Food" to the finale. I have to mention how amazing the set is,it literally lifts up to reveal Fagins Den, awesome!
Rowan Atkinson certainly doesn't disappoint, from his applauded entrance....Boys - "FAAAAAGIN!!", Fagin - "Whot?" to him skipping off into the sunset he is a top performer. He will make you laugh at the most random moments as well,for instance when Bill brings out a ring he's stolen..."Bill, this is all so sudden", and he insults those sat in the Balcony....*looks to the stalls*" I will look at the rich people" ... *looks to the Balcony* "and I will look at
the poor people", he will get a laugh every time.
About an hour into the show who should come running across the stage and down the stairs into Fagins Den but Sarah Lark!! After getting a hug from the boys and a cheeky "What's wrong with a bit of danger then, Fagin?" she breaks into "It's a fine life" and then "I'd do anything" I love the chemistry between her and Oliver here, it's like she truly is comforting him,rather that just acting it. Sarah is full of life, really bringing out Nancies fun and caring side, we even get a little growl in one of the songs. All the comments about her being too nice looking and being too short proved to be ridiculous, as Sarah strode across the stage with such confidence and attitude, you really believed she was a rough and tough east end woman.The second half does concentrate quite a bit on Nancy, and through seeing Sarah live before there was no doubt that Sarah could sing and dance, but can she act? The answer - yes she bloomin' well can!
Opening the second act with "Oom pah pah" Sarah made it look like so much fun, I had to use all my self control to stop me singing along! There's just so much energy amongst the whole cast, it really is incredible. This scene becomes quite dark with the arrival of Bill, this is where Nancy sticks up for herself,and gets a whack across the face for her troubles, this build us up to "As Long as he needs me" Nancies signature song. I've heard Sarah sing this live before and it was absolutely mesmerising, but this time it was breathtaking,it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, the last three words ..."heeeee neeeeeds meeeee" were incredible. The raw emotion and pain on her face were heart wrenching, and her expressions could in fact, Mr Humphries, be seen from the back of the stalls. The next big "Nancy Test" for Sarah is delivering that line, "I'll lay my mark on you Bill, and I don't care if I hang for it" and I can guarantee everyone in the audience believed her. I have to say, Sarah's grin during the finale was awesome, her bow to her sell out audience came with the most amazing roar of cheers , all totally well deserved. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Oliver and Dodger, they looked like they were having a blast up on stage.James's "Where is love" was beautiful and pretty much perfect, he played the naive, weak orphan perfectly, but you could see the menace in his expression when he gets angry! I think he and Ross will both be incredible leading me when they are older. Ross is also a fantastic Dodger, he is hilarious and has a great voice too.
Burn Gorman's portrayal of Bill was terrifying! To the point you're glad when he dies at the end! (oops, sorry if I gave anything away!)
He even got boo'd when he took his bow!
Also a massive thumbs up to all the kids! Who were all so professional and soooo cute!! And all of the cast, everyone gave an awesome performance.
All the songs in the show are fab! I absolutely love "That's your funeral" and "I shall scream" but my personal favourite is, "Who will buy", it was so well done!
Don't be despaired if you don't get to see Sarah as Nancy, you'll get to see her in her other roles, yes roleS! I managed to watch the show again, this time seeing Tamzin as Nancy, who is really incredible; it was interesting to see how differently she played Nancy to Sarah. Tamzin's "ALAHNM" was so beautiful, and a real delight to watch. Sarah pops up throughout the show, you could play a game of "Spot The Lark!!", from carrying the wobbly jelly, to dancing through "Oom Pah Pah", and then selling her strawberries in "Who will buy"!
All in all, it's a truly magic show!! Go and see it, take the family, have a sing along and enjoy!
Also you can see Sarah as Nancy tomorrow, matinee performance! :)
