Cameron Mackintosh to Bring First-Ever Arab-Language Production of OLIVER! to Amman

Cameron Mackintosh is delighted to support the first ever Arabic language adaptation of Lionel Bart's hit musical OLIVER! The production will feature a cast of 36 Syrian refugees and under-privileged Jordanian children and will open in Amman in Jordan on 1st September. Working with a local community centre in the Jordanian capital, the story has been updated to a modern Arab city. The production has been spearheaded by Charlotte Eager, a film producer and former journalist, and William Sterling, both of Refuge Drama Productions.

To support the largely amateur cast, the Mackintosh Foundation has helped to recruit talent from across the region including award-winning director and UNICEF goodwill ambassador Khaled Abol Naga, top Egyptian conductor Nayer Nagui and Disney's chief Arabic translator Zeinab Mobarak.

Mackintosh says, "Though Oliver! has continued to be a favourite musical with audiences the world over, I couldn't imagine a better way of presenting the story of Oliver Twist's contemporary relevance than this exciting and imaginative production performed by refugees and children who have had an even harder start to life than Oliver himself."

Abol Naga says, "We are aiming for an outcome that transforms the refugee and under-privileged children so they become a pride for society."

Sayah, one of the hundred children to have participated in the six months of workshops, says "This project of the musical Oliver! changed something inside me. Something in my heart that I cannot explain."

Cameron has produced such theatrical mega-hits as Cats, The Phantom Of The Opera, LES MISERABLES (musical and film) and Miss Saigon. He recently became the majority shareholder of the licensing firm Music Theatre International (MTI).

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos