Billy Jenkins is our Artful Dodger in Chichester's Oliver!
Billy Jenkins is our Artful Dodger in Oliver! at Chichester Festival Theatre this summer (until Saturday, September 7) – a role he has long history with.
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00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Lovely to
00:07meet the artful dodger, no less. Now, Oliver, the reports coming back about the show which
00:12has opened in Chichester Festival Theatre are fantastic. People are loving it, aren't
00:18they? And you can sense that, can't you? You must be getting great feedback from the audience.
00:24Yeah, it's great. I'm so happy they're enjoying it because it makes my job much happier. And
00:31yeah, I'm loving it. I'm absolutely loving it. I'm loving the energy of the audience as well.
00:35I can feel the buzz, especially when I do my big number, Consider Yourself.
00:42You must have them eating out of the palm of your hand when you do that one.
00:46Well, I do love that one because I love how everyone gets involved. It starts with Dodge
00:51and then everyone, everyone gets involved. There's so much dancing and movement and
00:56so much going on. And it's almost like London is the audience as well. I'm showing Oliver
01:03to the audience. So I love it. We're all together. But you've got such a fantastic part to play
01:10because Dodge is so likeable, isn't he? Yeah, he's a very likeable chap. He's a very nice,
01:17funny, cheeky chap. And yeah, he's, I've said this before, but he is very kind, I think,
01:23you know, getting Oliver and just putting him under his wing, you know, like his little,
01:28almost like his brother, really, I think. Yeah. And you were saying that you sense
01:32a not completely horrible side to Fagin too, that maybe it brings out.
01:37Yeah, I was thinking that. I was thinking, especially with Dodger and Fagin, their
01:41relationship, they're very close, I think, especially because they've spent such a long
01:46time with each other. It's definitely a, I think, a father and son relationship.
01:51Without actually being father and son. Without being father and son. I don't
01:55think blood related, but I think that kind of, yeah, father figure that is Dodger. Yeah,
02:01I think he really, or he almost inspires to be, you know, the next, the next thing,
02:07next Fagin, next Bill Sykes. And you have a long history as Dodger, don't you? On TV,
02:12before this, and before that? Yeah, I have. Yeah, maybe I am Dodger.
02:17You have to play the role clearly. Yeah, I started doing, I did an amateur role,
02:22and then I did it on TV. I got an audition, I did it on TV, and I did a 10 part series,
02:28and it was called Dodger, and it was about the artful Dodger, and I played Dodger. And it was
02:34about before he met Oliver, and how did he meet Fagin? How did he become the artful Dodger?
02:39Because his name's Jack Dawkins, he's just a normal, normal kid. He started like Oliver Twist,
02:44you know, but how did he develop into this such iconic character? And I did that. And then after
02:50that, I got a call for this, and with Cameron, and I was like, Oh my God, this must feel like
02:56it was just meant to be then. It meant to be. And I'm so excited.
03:00Fantastic. Well, really lovely to speak to you. Thank you for your time.
03:04I'm looking forward to seeing you very soon. Thank you.
03:06Thank you so much, Phil. Thank you.
03:08See you soon. Bye bye.