Rowan Atkinson (”Mr. Bean”) wird in der West End-Produktion des Musicals “Oliver!”, die im Dezember 2008 Premiere feiert, in der Rolle des Fagin zu sehen sein. Das gab Produzent Sir Cameron Mackintosh dieser Tage bekannt, während Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber mittels TV-Castingshow noch geeignete Nancys und Olivers sucht.

Atkinson zu seinen Beweggründen, diese Bühnenrolle anzunehmen:

In the 1980s I enjoyed doing a lot of West End theatre and since then have been distracted very much by Mr. Bean and film-making. I had been thinking for some time about returning to the stage and the idea of the role of Fagin, which has long intrigued me - some time ago I even played the role in a school production - seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. [The Press Association]