Apollo Players bring Oliver! to Glasgow's Pavillion Theatre And from tonight, the Apollo Players will be bringing the show to the stage of The Pavillion Theatre. The cast of the amateur production have been spending weeks and months getting their Cockney swagger just right for the five-night stint at the one of the city's theatrical institutions. For those who don't know, Oliver is based on the Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, which tells the story of an orphaned boy in Victorian London and the characters he meets along the way. Alan Scott and Lisa-Jayne Rattray have been warming up their vocal chords as they take on the roles of Bill Sykes and Nancy, with the role of Dodger is being shared between Elliot Shaw and Robbie Peden. The title role is being played by Rhys Lambert, Kerr McClusky and Jamie Wallace. As you can see, all the cast at The Apollo Players are already getting in to character ahead of the opening night. And while you may think you know everything about the show - after all, it has been going for more than 50 years - here's some interesting facts about Oliver! That will make you love the show even more. Award winning The musical earned its writer, Lionel Bart, the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist in 1963. Set designer Sean Kenny also picked up a Tony Award for his work on the musical in the same year. Since then, the show has continued to attract award success, such as Ron Moody being nominated for an Oscar for his performance of Fagin in the movie version in 1968 and then receiving a Tony Award for his stage performance in 1984. And the role of Fagin continued to attract acclaim, with Robert Lindsay winning the Olivier Award for best actor in a musical in 1997. Famous faces The role of Fagin has attracted household names to take on the challenge of London's West End stages. In years gone by, Rowan Atkinson, Barry Humphries - AKA Dame Edna Everage - and comedian Omid Djalili have been among those taking on the iconic role. Did you not know that Mr Bean could sing? Well check out this video of his performance as Fagin. Local delicacies While everyone on UK shores knows that in Food, Glorious Food the boys are asking for cold jelly and custard, did you know the song is adapted to bring in the tastes of the country the show is playing in? So in Finland, the young ones are asking for fresh fish and in Poland they are desperate for huge cakes and pork chops. Meanwhile in Hungary, it's changed to goulash soup and chestnut puree and in Japan, the song sees the children asking for porkham. Would this fill your hungry belly? From the wrong side of the law to the right side In the 1970s, Dennis Waterman became known for his role of DS George Carter in The Sweeney and later starring in Minder, but did you know that his acting career actually began years earlier, with a young Dennis playing Oliver in the production at the Mermaid Theatre. He even got featured in the cast recording that was released in 1961, which must have set him up nicely for producing this masterpiece in later years. From Oliver! To James Bond Skyfall director Sam Mendes took the director's chair for the production of Oliver! at the London Palladium in 1994. There were new scenes and new songs added, including Consider Yourself. Mendes" love-affair with the stage has continued - in between producing spy blockbusters - and this year he took on a modern children's classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Once again, his big screen vision was transferred onto the stage. Here's a wee flavour of what the man who took on Oliver! almost 20 years ago can now do. I'd Do Anything While the name Lionel Bart's name may still appear alongside the bright lights of the posters for Oliver! the composer actually didn't own the musical after the early 1970s. Bart hit financial difficulties and in 1972, he sold the rights of the musical to Family Fortunes presenter Max Bygraves for £350. Bygraves saw the value in the work and managed to later sell it on for £250,000. Here's one of the savvy businessman's best moments.