Oliver star connects with Laois pupil with great advice for school musical

Star of stage and screen Mark Lester, who is most famously known for playing the titular role of Oliver in the 1968 adaptation, has reached out to a Laois student to wish him luck on his turn of playing the same role in his school play this weekend.

The nerves were setting in for Ben Alston, 13, from Rathdowney, who attends Rockwell College in Tipperary as a boarder during the week, as opening night was fast approaching, according to his mother Sharon.

After being cast in the title role, Ben and his mother sat down to watch Oliver! which also stars Ron Moody and Jack Wild.

Ben is set to take to the stage for the next three nights as Oliver Twist

Sharon, who lives in Rathdowney, Co. Laois, says that Ben asked "How do people do this and not get so nervous?", to which Sharon replied "I'm sure that all big actors get nervous before they do a show."

The pair then did some searching on social media and found Mark Lester, who played the original Oliver.

"I didn't really expect him to respond", says Sharon, "But we sent him a message explaining that Ben would be playing Oliver, but that Mark would always be the iconic Oliver, and do you have any tips for nerves?

"And sweet as anything, he came back and gave Ben some tips and advice about dealing with nerves and how to channel the nerves into the performance.

Words of encouragement from Mark Lester

"All the way through the rehearsals Ben would come back and say 'I did that, what Mark Lester said', so it's just been a really nice thing and then to send the good luck to the cast and the show for this week, it was just so lovely.

"You know there's so many people out there who have been in the public eye and have been famous that wouldn't take the time to be that nice", Sharon adds, "I thought it was a lovely thing for him to do." 

Although this is not Ben's first performance, having already played a small part in a play in primary school, Sharon told us that Ben had been subjected to some nasty bullying that had really knocked his confidence.

"To do something like this in front of everybody", Sharon said, "is a really good way for him to build his confidence back up again.

"You've got to say no to the bullies by showing strength, and I think he's done that and he hasn't let them get him down and now he's going on to be the lead in the show, and I think that's lovely. I hope it goes so well for him, it's a scary thing.

"I hope he holds his nerves and delivers a great performance because he has such a beautiful voice."

Opening night of Oliver is tonight, Tuesday March 12, and will run until Thursday, March 14, at Rockwell College with some tickets still available here.