Nostalgia: Oliver delivers at Denton West

Breaking with tradition, Denton West Community Players decided to give pantomime a miss in 1992 - to stage what was probably their most ambitious production to date.

With plenty of action, humour, pathos and lots of toe tapping tunes, Lionel Bart’s musical Oliver! proved to be a real crowd puller.

A cast of 50 including a 20-strong children’s chorus had been rehearsing for months but at one point the production at the Hulme Road community centre seemed doomed due to a desperate shortage of males to take on some of the leading roles.

Thankfully after an appeal in the Reporter a number of new members came forward so the show could go on.

“We’re using two different stage sets and brought in professional props,” said Players spokesman Howard Davies. “All in all I think it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done.”