Picture Credit: Neil Baxter
Welcome to the Wizard of Oz in Stowmarket! This isn’t the only radical change for this new version of the classic story at the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.
Don’t expect The Wizard of Oz as you know it from the film, this is a re-working by the playwright Mike Akers and co-directed by the theatre’s artistic director and CEO Owen Calvert Lyons and their Head of Creative Learning David Whitney, with a mixture of young performers, community, and professional actors in the cast. There are new songs, a new way of telling the well-known tale, and new surprises along the way, including a talking dog.
Ronan Quiniou leads us through the action as Toto, a faithful canine companion to Dorothy and acts as our narrator. He guides us through this re-telling of a familiar story with ease, charm, and a lot of humour, and is one of the highlights for me in this production, so much so it’s hard to keep your eyes off him and you want to know what he’ll do next. Another highlight is Dorothy played by Darcy Manning, who has the widest most enchanting smile I think I’ve ever seen on stage. She is another of the cast I couldn’t stop watching, especially in the wonderfully choreographed ‘road trip’ sequences and she also has the most stunning voice, I wish she’d had more to sing in the show.
Joining them on their adventure from Stowmarket to Oz are Daniel Walford as an animatronic, robotic dancing Tinman who gives a clever yet understated performance. From the community cast are Jasmine Briggs who uses a lot of fine physical comedy to throw herself around the stage as the Scarecrow and Eloise Probitts as a suitably cowardly lion who conveys a real sense of friendship in her character and has a terrific roar.
Picture Credit: Neil Baxter
Providing a cast of many characters, most notably Uncle Henry and the Wizard himself, is Michael Lambourne, who was one minute playing a doctor then a TV news reporter then back to Uncle Henry, and finally resplendent in a green suit as Oz. He is wonderfully expressive and gives every part he plays a sense of authority – you know you’re in safe hands when he is on stage. Someone else who commands the stage is Nicola Bryan as Aunt Em, a much-changed character from the film that takes a little getting used to but you see why she is the way she is later when, as the West Witch, she is deliciously cruel and revels in playing the baddie. Andi Dodds shows good contrast as Mum and the glamorous North Witch and Wendy Hamilton as Major completes the cast.
The staging is ingenious with great use of the revolve and clever lighting and sound effects to bring you from Stowmarket to Oz and everywhere in between on the yellow brick road. My favourite piece of direction and staging was how they do the tornado – it’s a delight, as is the whole production.
‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ runs until Saturday 2nd September at the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds – tickets are available online at their website https://theatreroyal.org/
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