The Wizard of Oz
Royal Lyceum Theatre
When it comes to Christmas shows, the Lyceum has a well-earned reputation for producing something a bit special.
With last year’s
Pinocchio and now The Wizard of Oz, artistic director Mark Thomson has taken things in a new direction, and while the results are perhaps not quite up to the magical brilliance of pantomimes past, then that’s because very few productions are.
"Captures the
story’s dream-
like qualities
...fans of the
film won’t be
disappointed"
This Wizard of Oz isn’t a panto; rather it’s the excellent stage musical by John Kane, originally created for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It begins in Kansas, introducing not only Dorothy, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em but also a trio of men who work on their farm, and their formidable neighbour Miss Gultch. Each actor returns in a not-so-different role after Dorothy is spirited away to Oz.
From their very first appearance it’s clear that Matthew Pidgeon and Sandy Grierson will make perfect friends for our day-dreaming heroine. The pair bring a real sweetness to the roles of Scarecrow and Tinman respectively. Denise Hoey is both a charming, doggedly determined Dorothy and an impressive multi-tasker, slyly keeping little Toto’s tale wagging throughout the proceedings. Sadly she doesn’t get very much opportunity to show off the fantastic singing voice that we heard in
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, in which Judy Garland was one of the singers she flawlessly impersonated.
Julie Austin is no stranger to Lyceum villainy, and makes a suitably grim-faced Wicked Witch, although the lack of scope for audience interaction means she doesn’t have many opportunities to demonstrate the depths of her nastiness. Her melting, however, is fabulous.
A team of Lyceum Youth Theatre members have lots to do, bringing energy and otherworldliness to the Munchkinland and the Emerald City before switching sides to play the Witch’s fearsome flying monkeys.
Brightly coloured sets and costumes by Karen Tennent, swiftly and seamlessly changed, capture the story’s dream-like qualities (particularly the scary but distinctly ropey public face of the ‘mighty’ Oz), while supernatural touches such as good witch Glinda’s luminous accessories and the Wicked Witch’s broomstick torch add pizzazz.
If it’s ‘He’s behind you’ and high-kicking musical numbers you’re after, this might not be the Christmas show for you, but fans of the film won’t be disappointed, and little ones will be wide-eyed with wonder.
Shona Craven
Until December 30 2007, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay Street, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131 248 4848.
www.lyceum.org.uk
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User comments
Kirsty Jackson:
"The show was a real Christmastime treat! Excellent lead performances, with a good balance of subtlety and campness. The perfectly executed singing and choreography was nicely offset by surreal and comic touches - energetic munchkins in eccentric costumes, oversized scenery and some genuinely scary stage effects!
This inventiveness plus off-beat performances by the Wicked Witch and the so-called Wizard kept the show from feeling like a slavish reproduction of a classic. Instead it was a really fun and fresh piece of theatre."
What the papers said:
The Herald:
***** "Robertson's cast proves a veritable dream team: roles that could have been hogtied to screen conventions are given vivid sincerity and fine comic flourishes"
The Scotsman:
**** "A heartfelt, traditional and beautifully-acted staging ... deeply-felt performances make the whole familiar story seem brand new"
