The Wizard of Oz

Many thanks to Kirkham Grammar School for inviting me to their production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Summerlee Hall on Friday 24th November 2023. This production, written by George Critchley of PMA Productions Ltd, is of a drama in nature with pantomime & other performance arts elements included, which displayed the full talent of the members of the cast. It tells the nostalgic story of the classic movie musical. Due to how well known this story is I will not be describing the narrative further, but the show included additional characters who acted as narrators to the opening sections of the performance & instilled some additional moments of comedy into the production. 

The direction was undertaken by Beth Leeming who did an awesome job at recreating this narrative & combining multiple theatrical styles to deliver a piece of theatre which was entertaining for audience members of all ages. All my thoughts for improvement in this space are merely my thoughts & no means a criticism of the piece delivered, as it was a spectacle from start to finish. The space used to deliver the story was enormous & used to its fullest potential, more on this to follow. I did feel like some of the action may have worked better off centre when the floor area was being utilised, specifically the wicked witch scenes & the farm hands, which may have been better places in the spacing nearer to the cauldron & the house respectively to intensify these moments. I did learn that this was due to lighting constraints within these areas but felt creativity could have been used to mitigate this (uplighters in the cauldron/ lights on top of the house). The entire cast were well drilled & there were some fine characterisations brought to the stage, I felt as though some of the characters could have gone further into their physicality's & rhythms, specifically those who were intended to age up. There were moments of blackout interscene which I wondered if they could have been filled with a further dance break or moment of song to keep the pace upheld. I loved the hurricane dance, choreographed by Beth Leeming, Shelley Stott & the Hurricane Dancers, which epitomised the weather during the storm which transforms the setting from Cansas to Oz, although I would have removed moments of stillness & straight-line formations to instil further chaos into this movement. Overall, the direction was crafted as a wonderful piece of storytelling which integrated song, dance, & the breaking of the fourth wall to enable further audience engagement & interaction throughout the piece. 

The set utilised the whole of the schools’ gymnasium space, which is fortunate to have a large stage within it. On the floor space there were 2 areas upstage, one had a rotating house structure which was open on one side for the interior, whilst the hurricane was happening with the dance described above, the house rotated, enhancing the visual occurring within the dance. The other was a wooden hut structure which housed the Wicked Witches’ abode. Onstage were various settings constructed throughout the production through use of backdrops & trucks. There was effective use of SFX & lighting to amplify the production. The costumes for the show were incredibly detailed & to a high quality & this was consistent. Most notably I loved the flowing gown of the Good Witch, the Tin Man’s outfit & how the Wicked Witches costume integrated into her action with the use of the semi-transparent black sparkly cape. 

Now to the cast, firstly I would like to state what an honour it was to be sat there watching such an enormous cast enjoying every moment of the production. Everyone on the stage gave their all & knew exactly what they were doing. It is inspiring to note that so many students apart of the school have an active involvement within the performing arts, & this includes those who assisted backstage. 

The Good Witch of the North was played by Brooke Medhurst, who opened the piece with a gorgeous vocal performance & used strong acting through song as a part of this epilogue. She gave an impressive performance throughout & epitomised humility & kindness within her radiant aura.  

Dorothy was performed by Jessica Hagon, who played the part delicately & sensitively. I was enamoured by her sustained characterisation within interaction, visualisation & reactions throughout the performance. She gave an outstanding rendition of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ which demonstrated her vocal flexibility, displaying gymnastic riffs, dynamic belt & great articulation of chest, mixed & head voices. Toto was also a treat, am not sure of the real dog’s name, but Jessica did extremely well to ensure treats were guiding this adorable pooch to the correct staging positions as required. 

The Wicked Witch of the West was performed by Darcie Daniels who gave a spectacular performance. At times I thought further internalisation may have had a more sinister effect, as the volume at times I found overwhelming. I loved her physical characterisation & the intent behind every word was evident in her eyes. I loved all moments of song with her as well, most notably the power version of ‘Little Girls.’ A Wicked Witch all the audience loved to hate!! 

The Scarecrow, Tin Man & Lion were performed by Mia Gisslow, Jay Dawson & Zea Trend respectively who all provided good performances in these roles. I found the Lion & Scarecrow could have been more consistent with their physical characterisations throughout the show, as at times the scarecrow was sturdy on his feet & the lion looked not so cowardly spinning his tail, this detail was especially noted as the Tin Man did not deter from the robotic construct he created throughout the show. The three were a joy to watch on stage and did well to carry the narrative along. 

Aunty Em, Uncle Henry, Miss Gauch & the sister of Miss Gauch were played by Isobel Procter, Hannah Pilkington, Raia Trend & Amelia Sharpe respectively, who all did a solid job of creating these characters. I will refer to my comment on physical characterisations for aging up above at this point, but significant efforts, some solid honest acting & some comedic moments created from this group. 

The Gate Keeper was one of my favourite performances within the production, performed by Sophie Noblett. This was an hilarious cameo role performed with a high pitch squeaky voice with impeccable comedic timing. The opening of the gate was around 8ft tall, & so when Sophie came down to address Dorothy & her new acquaintances, to have the gatekeeper walking on his knees, with the costume hiding this fact, caused belly laughter throughout the audience.  

The Wizard was played by Tilly Musson, she had a great characterisation & was funny at the right moments. I did struggle as am not sure if they were miked up as the rest of the the principal cast were, but they projected well despite this. For me, this role requires gravitas, & so further work to ground the character & speak from deep within the solar plexus would have helped, but decent work achieved.  

The Little Witches did excellent work backing the Wicked Witch. When around the cauldron, their demeanour & smiles were really menacing & they looked really mean indeed! This faded slightly during their choreography, but I loved the characterisations when they were at their maximum. 

The Flying Monkeys were & absolute joy when onstage. They each created individual quirky physicality & when onstage, maintain these at all moments with great energy & focus. 

The Farmhands acted as additional narrators to the production. The worked well as an ensemble, had good comedic timing & added nice physical slapstick comedy within their performances, which added further dimensions to their performance. A comment for the scriptwriter on this trio is I wonder whether the the piece could have gone full circle with this trio narrating again at the end of the production, before an epilogue performed by the Good Witch, and whether this would have made the work feel more resolved. 

The Hurricane Dancers performed an awesome contemporary, lyrical & physical theatre moment of dance during the hurricane transition. The technical ability of them was to a prominent level & I adored the versatility of the group, especially within the tricks & lifts. 

The remainer of the cast played various roles including Townsfolk, Munchkins & additional witches. All of these complemented the work well although I would call out that during ensemble dance numbers, there was mixed enthusiasm which was notable, so high energy & big smiles do not go amiss if that is what is required. 

Many thanks again to Kirkham Grammar for inviting me to this wonderful evening of entertainment & wish you all the best with your future endeavours. 

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