Wailing Wenches and Waisted Women
Upon watching Oliver! at the Curve theatre in Leicester, I couldn’t help but think just how relevant it is to 21 st century. Set against a backdrop of (mostly) working-class Victorian Britain, where society mostly was geared toward favouring Upper-Class, White, British, Males, this play really highlighted the subjugation of Woman under Man. Oliver meets several female characters, who, really highlight the unappealing lives of Women in the 19 th Century. Nancy, a (suggested) prostitute and abused wife.= Not only does she use her sex appeal to ‘Oom Pa Pa!!’ her way through the raucous, crowded pub, and entertain the audience, she is married to the thug, Bill Sykes. If ‘Bullseye’ is Bills’ dog, then I’m afraid to say this, but Nancy really is, Bill Sykes’ ‘bitch.’ Not only does she have to chase up Fagin for the money he owes her, but she also acts as a spy when Oliver is being questioned in court, before finally being reduced to a kidnapper in order to keep Oliver’s m