A different understanding of "evil" Bill Sikes in Chichester's Oliver!
Aaron Sidwell is relishing the new approach which lies behind Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Oliver! at Chichester Festival Theatre this summer (until Saturday, September 7).
Transcript
00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Six Newspapers. Fantastic this
00:06afternoon to speak to Bill Sykes, Aaron Sidwell, who is in the production at Chichester Festival
00:12Theatre of Oliver. Now, you've opened to, oh goodness, fantastic word of mouth, really
00:17looking forward to seeing it. You must be really buoyed by the response that you've
00:21had so far.
00:22Yeah, it's been fantastic. It's been really, really lovely. Audiences seem very connected,
00:29with the show and the journey that we go on. And that kind of presents itself at the
00:34end of the show, just to this, you know, wonderful full house kind of standing ovation night
00:40after night. It's been, it's been really lovely.
00:43Absolutely. And the complexity of the characters is going to be so fascinating, isn't it? Because
00:47I think you can think of Fagin and Sykes and you are Sykes as being very black and white.
00:52But it sounds like your production is going to show us that there's something in the middle,
00:55in the shades of grey, because your Sykes is rather more complex than we would imagine, isn't it?
01:02Yeah, definitely. I think it was kind of our MO coming into the job to find this nuance
01:09to them. And I think that the journey that we take people on in this production of Oliver
01:18is unique to the show. I also think that, you know, Dickens was an incredible storyteller
01:30and created these worlds, really, this idea of London at that time. And he really kind
01:37of gave you the detail of the, you know, the separation between, you know, this class and
01:45I think what we have found is more understanding of how somebody within that class of, you know,
01:53within London could be that kind of person and feel okay about it and just feel like, well...
01:59Well, you were so fascinating me with Bill. The question is, if you are the most menacing
02:03and the most scary, that enhances your chances of survival, doesn't it?
02:06Absolutely. Yeah. I think it all comes down to survival amongst the characters of Bill and Nancy
02:13and Fagan. And it's just, yeah, it's all about survival.
02:16And as Bill, inevitably, obviously, you are called upon to do this horrific thing,
02:21aren't you? Which must be tough for you psychologically.
02:26Yeah, yeah, it can be. It's kind of putting your mind and your body into a place that is,
02:35it's not a nice one to go to eight times a week. But it's very necessary for the work
02:43and we, you know, have worked very closely with an intimacy director on this show just to
02:51give us processes of check-in and check-out with, you know, one another, myself and Sinead,
02:57who plays Nancy, and finding a way of, you know, kind of releasing yourself of that
03:04prior to going home is crucial.
03:08Absolutely. And crucially, you have a fantastic relationship with her.
03:12Yeah, no, it's been a wonderful collaboration. Genuinely one of the best of my career. And
03:23Sinead is just such a wonderful actress. I think audiences will come and be, you know,
03:29so wowed by her voice. But she is this stunning actress that brings a rendition of
03:38As Long As He Needs Me that I just have never seen, really. It's just beautiful.
03:45Her performance from start to finish is a thing of wonder, really.
03:51Well, it sounds like it's going to be an amazing evening, thought-provoking and brilliant too.
03:55Really great to speak to you, Aaron. Thank you so much for your time.