This year my high school is doing the musical, Oliver. I’m sure most people are fimilar with it and if you aren’t then thats ok. My problem is that I need to get a cockney accent for the character im auditioning for, Fagan. Our last production was ‘The Matchmaker’ which required me to have an irish accent (for Malachi Stack) which i ended up with me not being able to do it. Can anyone give me tips on how to talk with a cockney accent? I’m sure it wont be as hard as getting an irish accent, but accents are one of my weak points as an actor. Any advice is welcome:)
There is a series of tapes/workbooks called “Acting with an Accent” They are very good and relatively widley used. If you live in Los Angeles I can tell you were you can pick up copies. Otherwise ask around.
Cockney is showing as out of print on Amazon, but you might be able to find a copy in your local library.
thanks! unfortunatly for me, I’ve checked on my local library’s website and it looks as though that the only copy was never returned. I did however search of other books like that and saw a few promising ones. I would like to get more of a hands on response if possible with people who can actually do the accent though. And no, I dont live in L.A., I live in Ottawa, Canada
Try renting the original Alfie, with Michael Caine. (Alfie (1966) - IMDb) Listen and try to sound like he does.
Or the original Mary Poppins. Listen to Dick van Dyke, then don’t talk like him. 
Go to the International Dialect of English Archive and download for free the sound of England Fifty-Nine, London section (while male born in Merton). Give it a listen. Burn it onto a CD. 
If you can get the film version, listen to Ron Moody (Fagin). Several of the rest of the cast (notably Nancy) spoke the accent normally, so you would be getting a native speaker’s version.
Further to my last message: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JlMMbvI54AU - Ron Moody on playing Fagin.
You beat me to it.
Otherwise, go with Fish and tirial.
Fagin is a stereotypical Jew. His accent is not Cockney.
I’m not sure these are mutually exclusive. I’m no expert on historical accents, but I don’t see why an East End Jew wouldn’t/couldn’t have an East End accent. In any case, the Jewish aspect is one many people might prefer to play down rather than highlight.
You might also want to grab the original cast recording of the 1963 Broadway version and study Clive Revill’s Fagin.
It seems Dickens did, himself.
As Jonathan Miller said: “…not really a Jew. Just Jew-ish. Not the whole hog, you know.”
I find that Accents: A Manual for Actors is very good. It is by Robert Blumenfeld. The modern editions have CDs with it.
thanks for all the references! if possible, can i get some text pointers from anyone with experience? for example, to speak with a cockney accent you should put more emphasis on certain vowel sounds or some other similar advice. Thanks:)
I hurt my ribs there.
IANACockney but I am a Brit, have sat through countless episodes of Eastenders and currently have a cockney co-worker. The first thing that springs to mind is that you really need to OPEN YOUR MOUTH.
I’d also suggest that any dipthongs are more pronounced - by which I mean the two sounds are often very clear to the extent that there seems to be an extra syllable at times.
Vowels aside
- the “th” sounds could become “f” or “v” and the final “g” in “-ing” often becomes a “k” sound - thus the stereotype of “samfink” = something.
- there are the glottal stops created by omitting “t” sounds in the middle of words; twenty is not said as a soft American “twenny” but with a sort of pause “twe-ee”, butter is “bu-er”
- final “t” sounds may disappear, as may initial “h” sounds, “ave” = have, “wha” = what
- final “l” sounds may be closer to a “w”, all is similar to the end of “saw”, and the character Phil in Eastenders is often referred to as “Phiw”.
Hope this helps - I also find that my colleague speaks faster that the average Brit but that could just be a personality thing.
I’d noticed the same thing. I’m not a Cockney but I live near a lot. I think its a London thing rather than specifically Cockney though.
Rent My Fair Lady, pronto. I imagine you could read Pygmalion instead, but the movie has the advantage of being able to listen to the characters.
I was complimented by a Cockney bobby (“oi’s nois t’fáin a f’rein’h 'o spoiks O-onglish!” and yes I’m using Spanish phonics) on my English-speaking skills thanks to having watched it in English with Spanish subtitles two days before asking him for help. If it hadn’t been for Professor Higgins and Ms Eliza Doolittle, I would never have been able to figure out that what he pronounced as “Po’k Loin” was not a cut of meat but nearby “Park Lane.”
Even listening to the Geico Gecko can help.
Listen to the gecko saying “bruvver” at 25 seconds.
or just drop the “g”. The gecko says “advertisin” at 6 seconds.
“baby si’ing” at 20 seconds.
but = bu’ at 13 seconds.
people = peopw at 5 seconds.