Nor'West News: February 03, 2022

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8 Thursday February 3 2022 Mother-son duo takes on Bugsy Malone Teenager Oliver Bol is making a name for himself in theatre, but he is aiming for the bright lights of Hollywood. Emily Moorhouse reports OLIVER WAS introduced to performance at the age of three, and started off playing small parts and extras in children’s plays. Since then, he has performed in a variety of roles. Now, at 18, he recently took on the lead role of Bugsy in Elmwood Players sold-out musical Bugsy Malone – with the help of his mother Franc Bol, who directed the show. Oliver’s first real memory of being on stage was at seven, playing an extra in Rumpelstiltskin and quickly falling in love with the rush of performing. Having a mum that worked for Imagine Youth Theatre saw Oliver’s interest in theatre and performance grow. He was always auditioning for school plays and enrolling in drama classes. Last year he landed a spot in the Court Theatre Youth Company, something he described as an incredible and very fulfilling experience. “There’s something about the rush at the end [of a show] when the whole audience is clapping and cheering and it just feels good,” he said. “Like you’ve just entertained all of these people and you’ve made so many people smile or cry depending on what show you’re in, I guess.” Oliver had landed big roles before, such as Mickey from Blood Brothers, but admitted he was “kind of in shock” upon finding out he would play the lead role Bugsy Malone. “At first I didn’t fully believe it and then it properly hit me and I was like, oh wait, the show is called Bugsy Malone and that’s me,” he said. “It’s about me, that’s cool.” Although the role of Bugsy has been stressful and has meant Oliver hasn’t had a big holiday break, he said he wouldn’t have had it any other way. “There’s something I weirdly enjoy about the stress of needing to know all your lines and needing to be in the right spot for going on stage and getting into costume fast and all that,” he said. “There’s just something about the rush and the energy.” Oliver said working alongside his mum Franc, who directed the show, has been easy as she understands the struggles and stresses show biz can present. “I think because she’s in the same boat career-wise as me I guess she just understands it better,” he said. “I’ve always found it easy to work with her.” As for the cast, Oliver said he thinks they’ve done an amazing job and the acting, signing and dancing was “really good.” “I’ve made friends who I love to bits,” he said. “They’re all great people.” Franc said while directing the show has been a lot of fun and rewarding, the planning did present some challenges early on. Being set in the 1920s, she described the show as having some “outdated” aspects and was particularly wary of the public shootings, in spite of being with marshmallow guns. “Even if it’s with cream pies and marshmallow guns it still felt kind of wrong,” she said. After some thinking, Franc tweaked the script and designed the show to be kids playing the game of Bugsy Malone so when characters got shot they were ‘out’ rather than being killed. “It still goes into the 1920s gangster but it’s now got this underlying story of kids playing a game, which has lent us to having so much fun with it.” Franc was pleased to see how involved the kids’ parents got with the show, from helping design the set to participating in weekend workshops leading up to opening night. “The support of everyone involved just makes it so achievable,” she said. “Because the community got on board I don’t think it was as stressful as it could’ve been.” While Franc said she was proud of Oliver for getting the lead role, she admitted it was “slightly awkward” in the auditions process. She was thankful that the casting panel had other directors and managers, and said she even left the room during the discussion about casting Oliver as Bugsy. “I’m so very proud as both a mum and a director,” she said. “It’s a joy to work with him, he’s very invested in the show and has been a great help in many other respects as well.” The show faced a rocky start with Covid and lockdowns postponing opening night from October to January, resulting in losing some cast members along the way. “It’s the kind of show that you can’t really rehearse through Skype,” she said. “That was pretty nerve-racking.” However, Franc was relieved to be able to go ahead with the show under the red traffic light system. In the end, all the stress and ACTOR: Oliver Bol has been involved in theatre since he was three-years-old. LEAD ROLE: Oliver Bol played Bugsy Malone in the soldout show of the same name, put on by Elmwood Players. He said it took a while to sink in that the show was about his character. Aashma Goldfarb (above right) played Tallulah. hard work paid off when Franc watched the kids take their place on stage, describing the show as seeing pieces of the puzzle come together. “The look at the reaction of their audience just made it all worthwhile,” she said. “Hearing them laugh and clap and cheer and even cry . . . Seeing all of that come together was an absolute highlight.” Franc said while she loved hearing audience feedback, her favourite was from dads who had been “dragged along” to watch a kids show. “They’ve come up afterwards going ‘oh I was expecting a kids show, I didn’t realise it was going to so be professional and so much fun to watch’. In some ways it’s better feedback than official reviews,” Franc said. While the cast was made up entirely of children and young people, Franc was impressed with how well each member handled rehearsals and the energy they brought to the stage, even when performing twice a day. “They were exhausted behind the scenes but the moment they were on stage [they] 100 per cent gave it their all,” she said. “I take my hat off to them, they were more than professional.” The sold-out show had its last performance over the weekend, leaving the cast with time to relax after months of hard work. Looking ahead, Oliver plans to continue to pursuing performance and even talked about wanting to act in films, but said it was important to stay true to yourself. “Even though acting is usually about trying to be someone else if you’re trying to audition, or meeting people if you’re in some sort of new course or class, I think it’s better to be yourself,” he said. “There will always be someone who has done less or someone who has done more than you, and there will always be someone out there who will absolutely love you and the way that you work and the way that you talk and speak and move, or they’ll see a way to help you grow your abilities more.” THAT’S A WRAP: Oliver’s mum, director Franc Bol, said she had a lot of fun working with the young cast.
Thursday February 3 2022 9 Honey is part of nature’s bounty Because honey lasts forever, it’s a safe bet that you have some in your pantry. It can be used in many ways uncovered, at 220 deg C for 60min from a cold oven or until vegetables are cooked through and lightly browned. Devilled sausages Serves 4 Honey soy beef and noodle stir-fry Serves 4-5 Ingredients 2 tablespoons peanut oil, place in frypan 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 600gm rump steak, cut into strips 1 teaspoon minced ginger ½ red chilli, de-seeded & finely chopped 400gm mixed vegetables ½ teaspoon ground five spice ½ cup liquid honey ¼ cup soy sauce 350gm noodles Handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped Roasted cashew nuts, roughly chopped Directions Heat oil, add onion and stir-fry over medium heat until it beings to soften. Increase heat and add beef and stir-fry until meat browns. Reduce the heat and add ginger, chilli, vegetables and five spice, and continue stir-frying for a further minute. Pour over honey and soy sauce, stir through, and continue cooking for a further five minutes until meat is cooked and vegetables are heated through and tender. Cook noodles, then drain. Serve the stir-fry beef and vegetables over the noodles, or toss the noodles through. Garnish with fresh coriander and cashew nuts. Honey mustard glazed kumara Serves 4 Ingredients ½ cup liquid honey, place in large bowl with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard 1 tablespoon water 1 tablespoon peanut oil 1 tablespoon root ginger, grated 2 large golden kumara, peeled and cut up into bite-size pieces 2 large red onions, peeled and cut into wedges Directions Combine the honey/balsamic vinegar/mustard/water/peanut oil/root ginger, then add the kumara and onions. Toss to coat the vegetables well. Place on oven tray that has been lined with two thicknesses of non-stick tin foil, and bake, Ingredients Up to eight sausages (preboiled) 1 tablespoon olive oil, place in frypan 1 onion, halved and sliced 1 fresh pear, cored and sliced ¼ cup tomato sauce, place in jug with: 2 tablespoons cornflour 2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons honey ½ teaspoon curry powder ½ teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon coriander 1 tablespoon brown sugar ¼ cup raisins Directions Heat olive oil and fry sausages until browned. Add onions and pear, then cook for a further 2min. Add raisins to the tomato sauce mixture, then pour the mixture into the pan and mix well. Transfer to a large casserole dish and bake at 180 deg C for 60min. Up to 50 % Off *Call for Terms & Conditions Off *
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Nor'West News: February 03, 2022

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