Lionel Bart

Lionel Bart created musical theatre works from a uniquely British working-class perspective. Rather than having an academic training he relied on instincts developed from a working-class East End Jewish upbringing, the London pop music industry, and his early theatrical experiences at Unity and Theatre Workshop. From these diverse influences he produced what is arguably one of the best-loved British musicals of all time, Oliver! Subsequently, Blitz! and Maggie May also achieved commercial and critical success in Britain, but did not transfer to Broadway. Building on his background and theatrical context, Bart spoke in a vernacular musical and lyrical language that retained a gritty urban realism and a left-wing political ideology. Although the small number of his works that are regularly revived demonstrates that he wrote of and for his time, his influence and that of his collaborator, set designer Sean Kenny, has been pervasive and profound.