Ava Brennan joins Oliver! in the West End

Oliver! has announced an alternate Nancy will be joining the show.

The hit revival, which bagged a five-star review from WhatsOnStage and a WhatsOnStage Award for its initial run at Chichester Festival Theatre, is devised by Cameron Mackintosh, with direction and choreography by Matthew Bourne, and co-direction by Jean-Pierre van der Spuy.

Revealed today, Ava Brennan will join the show as the alternate Nancy, playing the role at certain performances.

Adapted from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist by Lionel Bart’s Oliver! follows an orphaned boy of the same name as he escapes the confines of the workhouse and finds refuge in the city’s underworld. Tunes include “Food Glorious Food”, “Consider Yourself”, ”You’ve Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two”, and “As Long As He Needs Me.”

The musical is currently booking to Sunday 29 March 2026.

Also appearing in the West End are Simon Lipkin as Fagin, Shanay Holmes as Nancy, Aaron Sidwell (Henry VI, Wicked) as Bill Sikes, Billy Byers (Watch on the Rhine) as the Artful Dodger, Oscar Conlon-Morrey as Mr Bumble, Katy Secombe (The Music Man) as Widow Corney, Stephen Matthews (Strictly Ballroom) as Mr Sowerberry/Dr Grimwig, Jamie Birkett (Peter Pan Goes Wrong) as Mrs Sowerberry/ Mrs Bedwin and Philip Franks (The Rocky Horror Show, Witness for the Prosecution) as Mr Brownlow, with Rudy Gibson and illiam Skinner as understudy Artful Dodgers.

The role of Oliver Twist is shared by Cian Eagle-Service (The Witches, Les Misérables), Raphael Korniets (The Snowman), Jack Philpott (The Witches, Matilda) and Odo Rowntree-Bailly (Love Never Dies).

Also on the creative team are designer Lez Brotherston, musical supervisor and conductor Graham Hurman, lighting designers Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs, sound designer Adam Fisher, and projection designer George Reeve, with original orchestrations by William David Brohn, orchestral adaptation by Stephen Metcalfe, choreographic associates Etta Murfitt and Sam Archer, casting directors Felicity French and Paul Wooller and children’s casting director Verity Naughton.

Tickets are on sale below – and a brand new cast album is also available to listen to.