I had to check out Simon Lipkin, an ex-Theatretrain student and now a patron of the company. He is playing Fagin in Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End. The production has won many plaudits and has been a sell-out for months. It’s not hard to see why. From the off, it’s musically very slick, there’s a great set including a revolve, atmospheric lighting, and the orphans attack their parts with gusto, so you know you are in for a treat with this story of good and evil.
It’s a while before Fagin comes on, but from his first entry, he owns the stage. There’s a little test I do with some performers – I watch them and then I look away. With some performers, nothing compels you to look back at them because what they do just doesn’t ring true. They don’t demand your attention. That isn’t the case with Simon. You can’t look away because you would miss something. So alive is he with his character that every gesture, every look carries a sense of what he feels inside. That’s partly because he has an actor’s innate ability to inhabit the character, and partly because he has worked at his craft.
I’ve followed what Simon has done in his career, and he is a bit of a one-off. He can sing and dance with the best of them, as we saw when he played Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls or the title role in Elf. A fantastic puppeteer in Avenue Q and his ability to connect with an audience, as in Rock of Ages. He‘s also a magician and a member of the Magic Circle, bringing some of those skills to his performance.
He also brings honesty, attention to detail and a powerful intensity. That’s what makes you want to watch him. But he’s also generous on stage. When he directs his energy to someone else, he makes you watch them as well.
His Fagin engages you totally whether he is fearful of Bill Sikes, coveting his jewels or talking to God.
He has his moves, his words, his routines, but he is alive to this audience today. He listens to them, feels how they are reacting, and adapts his timing to the slightest thing. It’s a crafted performance with excellent comic timing, and his stage presence is extraordinary – quite simply, he is the star of the show.
Over the years, I’ve met performers who become conceited and self-centred. They think it is all about them. That’s the danger of working at a higher level because it can so easily be all about you. But I’ve found that the best performers rise above that. There’s a generosity of spirit and humility about what they do, and that’s what shines through them. I’d put Simon in that category.
