The Wizard of Oz RSC Version

Taking my seat in the Guildhall of St George King’s Lynn for KLP’s production of The Wizard of Oz was a trip down memory lane (my own yellow brick road), having directed this myself in Downham Market 5 years ago.

The show was co-directed by Sharon Fox & Anthony Maley. Together they brought together a huge inclusive cast of all ages. I know the countless hours that can go into this show with so many different characters and so many costumes, all on a small stage. Well done to both and everyone in KLP for embracing the ethos of community theatre.

I was impressed as I took my seat by the visual of a Kansas farm scene with effective lighting, highlighting a tin funnel and straw head. The lighting throughout was impressive with excellent use of movers and gobos to illustrate different scenes, characters and moods. The set throughout was simple and overcame the limitations of the stage (no wing space!) and most scene changes were seamless.

Dorothy (Maddi Dawson) had an amazing soft, controlled vibrato which was ideal for the classic “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. Supporting Dorothy were Scarecrow (Logan Petterson-Cooper), Tinman (Tim Webb) and the Cowardly Lion (Liam Nixon). Logan’s physical theatre throughout was impressive as was his voice (more mature than his age) and Tim did well to maintain appropriate stiffness throughout, both physically and in his speech. The four leads played off each other well, but I did feel there were times when the blocking and the line delivery could have been more natural. All credit goes to Liam, who stole the show for me. His characterisation, use of physical theatre and line delivery closely mirror the movie I grew up on. Extremely well done Liam!

A special mention goes to Jack Higgins and the puppet dog. I have to be honest, for the first few scenes I was not a fan (I used a real dog so a high bar by comparison). However, Jack did such a great job of not drawing attention to himself (not easy when only a few characters on stage) and made sure the dog interacted in all the right places. Well done Jack!

Glinda/Aunt Em (Amanda Mason) portrayed the character of Aunt Em in a very motherly fashion and  her songs as Glinda were excellent. Uncle Henry/Guard (Paul Ketteridge) was knowingly funny as the guard and the accent from Uncle Henry, which was closer to Norfolk than Kansas, was strangely endearing.

The Wicked Witch (Jo Sherry) captured both the character of Almira Gultch and the witch exactly as you’d want it.  Very well done Jo! Especially for acting through a helicopter circling the theatre in one of your main scenes. Jo was strong enough and her voice powerful enough, that it could have done with no reverb on the mic – a unnecessary addition in my view.

The ensemble, whilst vast in number, were energised and added to the whole whimsical nature of Oz. I felt some of the choreography could have been more ambitious and cleanly executed in places but then this must be balanced by the number and abilities of the cast.

Finally, Samantha Ashby (Musical Director) deserves special credit, not only had she brought out overall strong singing and harmonies from a huge cast, the orchestra (all 11 of them) were faultless, a very rare experience for community theatre.

A great evenings entertainment somewhere over the rainbow. Well done KLP!

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