[1] Oakley, a reclusive curmudgeon,[1] has been a solitary resident for 40 years since he became a widower and lost his infant son;[2] Beech is an illiterate, bruised, and starving Deptford evacuee.
[2] The production moved to London with previews starting on November 22, 2012 and then ran for 9 weeks from November 27 until January 26, 2013 at the West End Phoenix Theatre, with Oliver Ford Davies as Tom Oakley, Ewan Harris and two other actors alternating as William Beech, and William Price as Zach.
The production will star James Sampson and Eoin McKenna as Tom Oakley, with other cast including Millie Brolly, Ethan Quinn and Bradley Riches.
[9] Michael Billington, after explaining that he had not read the source material, said that he was "struck by the story's debt to Oliver Twist: in both, a serially abused boy is rescued, and briefly lost, by a solitary senior."
Billington praised the cast's performances and called the production "a strong seasonal show, unafraid to target the emotions.