Qatar Foundation will present the musical theatre production “Oliver,” written in 1960 by Lionel Bart, from April 10 to 15. Oliver is QF’s next staff/student musical theatre production. With a cast of over 70 QF staff and students, the show will run for a total of seven performances from at the Qatar Academy auditorium. Directing the show will be Jane Griffiths who has directed many previous shows with Qatar Foundation and Qatar Academy students. The producer and musical director will be Steve Griffiths, now Senior Concert and Community Events Officer with Qatar Music Academy (QMA) and producer of many musical events both professional and student -based on behalf of Qatar Foundation. This will be the second cross-campus, joint staff and student musical production presented in Education City and will highlight the considerable theatrical talent and commitment which was so much in evidence in last year’s production. When asked why Oliver was chosen for this year’s QF production, Griffiths said “the timeless and poignant story of Oliver Twist based on the 19th Century novel by Charles Dickens, reaches out to all ages and nationalities in terms of its realistic social drama, captivating and moving story line and, as interpreted by Lionel Bart, the immensely popular songs and choruses written to portray the storyline and its characters.” “Indeed the international background of the cast of QF’s production reflects appropriately this broad global attraction to the tale of Oliver.” Participants of the production include both young primary school children, teenage students from a range of cultural backgrounds and the more mature teaching staff. “One of the reasons why Jane and I chose this year in particular to produce Oliver was because 2010 is somewhat of an anniversary for us. It was exactly 10 years ago since we presented this show in QA auditorium with students exclusively from the newly opened Qatar Academy,” said Griffiths. That production turned out to be the first of many produced and directed by Jane and Steve Griffiths over the past 10 years. The costumes for this production, all originally designed by Jane will be tailored here and will reflect the fashion and social norms of life in 19th Century London. The orchestra for the show will comprise members of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Griffiths himself. The local sponsors of this cross-campus QF theatrical event are numerous and underline the positive community support for such a popular and creative event. They include the Jaidah Group, ExxonMobil, Qatar Plant Hire and Digital Print Center, Ramada, Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton Doha and 51 East. Tickets for Oliver will be on sale at QR50 each from the reception desk at the Qatar Academy Senior school. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=April2010&file=Local_News2010040835053.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar