“After a huge storm hits Stowmarket, Dorothy finds herself transported back to the magical Land of Oz, with only a trusty talking chicken, Billina, for company. But all is not well. The yellow brick road has been smashed and the Emerald City lies in ruins. The Gnome King now sits on the throne and he happens to be wearing a rather fabulous pair of slippers. Dorothy will meet new friends along the way who help her to overcome the Gnome King and restore hope to the people of Oz”.
This Theatre Royal Production has been written by Mike Akers bringing the characters and plot points to life from the second and third novels in the Land of Oz saga; The Marvellous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. Merging the novels together makes for a show with lots of story arcs as we get time to explore deeper with the characters and it keeps it a fast paced show with plenty to keep the audience engaged.
We open with a chicken and her Supremes giving us a song and dance number – it was a fun number, lots of children and super costumes, definitely setting the tone for a fun show. Billina, the chicken with a Welsh accent, plays both the narrator and a new friend of Dorothy after she lands on Billina’s chicken shack after surviving the floods of Stowmarket. There are a few songs and dance numbers scattered through the show but it’s not a musical, however the songs do add another delightful dimension.
The children in the performance are part of the Young Company which brings young people from the local community an opportunity to perform alongside professional actors and creatives. There are two groups of seven children who take it in turns to perform. I got to see the ‘Eggs’ perform. They were pretty awesome – full of energy and confidence and all looked like they were having an amazing time playing singing chickens, evil dancing munchkins and used as parts of the set: two highlights for me was the kitchen equipment floating away on the floods as it brought a good laugh from the audience, and the fabulously choreographed scene where Dorothy is swept away through the flood water – the kids were representing the water and I thought it was brilliantly executed.
There were more highlights, to be honest there were quite a few as the show was packed with levels of detail that constantly delighted. However, two elements which I loved were the evil Princess Langwidere and her interchangeable heads and then the wonderful magical flying sofa.
The set was very simple, allowing lots of stage space for the action to take part but also for the one main prop to be the focus of the scene, the acting was at a level where the actors sucked you into the fantasy world without the need for a stage full of clutter.
The actors were all marvellous and their energy and enthusiasm just drew you into the bonkers but charming story. The costumes were creative and colourful. The show also managed to cover a few themes which can be difficult for children (adults too I’m sure) such as loneliness, friendship, being authentic and death, yet they are deal with in a way that’s subtle and heartfelt that you don’t realise you are learning some life lessons.
There is a lot going on in this performance, however people of all ages can be engaged all the way through the magical and fantastical adventure of Dorothy. It’s a lovey family show and another great one from the creators at Theatre Royal.
Photo Credits: Neil Baxter