The Wizard of Oz

What an enjoyable trip down the Yellow Brick Road.  A mainly young cast gave a very competent performance.  Dorothy  was played by Emily Cant, who gave a most polished performance, her singing and acting were first class,  and she was accompanied by Toto,  a brilliantly created animatronic dog by Chris Margett,  that  almost stole the show.

Hunk, Hickory and Zeke were in their element doubling up as Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion.  Played by Jonathon Banks, Tom Banks and Adrian Redfern, each fully justified their casting, extracting the utmost from their characters.   It`s good to see young talent come to the fore, both Jonathon, in his debut as a lead character,  and his brother Tom,  are ones to watch.

Sound support by Julie Berrisford as The Wicked Witch of the West, although not quite sinister enough for me.  Bill Day was a believable Wizard of Oz, with John Wedgwood,  as  Uncle Henry,  and  excellent as the Emerald City Guard.   Laura Jones, as Glinda the Good Witch of the North completed a  capable cast line-up.

Congratulations to the Munchkins who played their roles to the full, and the essential chorus, who sadly,  in today`s  amateur theatre, were lacking any men.  But the ladies rose to the challenge and played an assortment of roles with great aplomb.

The band gave excellent backing,   the costumes were excellent,  there  a few issues with the sound and lighting,  but they could not detract from a good evening`s entertainment.

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