The Wizard of Oz At Theatre By The Lake Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Jo Hardy

Christmas lights are starting to appear, advent calendars are poised, the Christmas markets are opening and Theatre by the Lake’s Christmas production is here, this year it is a new adaptation of the well know classic “The Wizard of Oz” written by Sonia Jalaly and directed by Sarah Punshon.

The first clue that this version was going to be a little different was in the opening scene, Dorothy was in Aunty Em’s house in Keswick and wanted to go back to her old life in London.

Sonia has done a great job of bringing this story up to date while at the same time sticking to the story, for example the red shoes have been replaced with rainbow trainers, all the main characters had great individual personalities and made a good connection with the audience, the Munchkins were cute and giggly they had some great moves and songs, Toto started off as a puppet but turned into a person when he went to Oz, the funny thing was he could only make dog noises but still managed to make the audience understand exactly what he was saying. There is other clever puppetry in the show to look out for, I must also mention the amazing lighting that adds so much to the show.

A trip to the theatre at Christmas is a tradition in many families and I can see how this show is going to appeal to all ages, it’s got the humour that children and adults can appreciate together, some very catchy songs delivered by some amazing voices, plenty of opportunities for the audience to get involved including the essential “It’s Behind You” moment, the monkey’s bring just a touch of darkness and the Emerald City in the second half of the show is just wonderful, simply done with light tubes but so effective, the Emerald City singing and dancing was my favourite of the whole show.

At the end of the show the cast (some in Christmas jumpers) lined up in front of a rainbow curtain giving a lovely festive finish and gave me my first “It’s Christmas” feeling of the year and a reminder that I’d better start my Christmas shopping..

I have seen a lot of Theatre by the Lake’s Christmas shows they’ve all been good but this one is outstanding and I am now imagining all the smiles and laughter that the theatre will be filled with in the weeks to come.

The Wizard of Oz runs from 14th November to 11th January most shows start at 7.15 but there are morning and afternoon performances on selected dates, running time is 1 hour 50 mins including an interval, the show is suitable for ages 6 and over, prices start £12 for under 16 years and go up to £47, bookings can me made via the theatre web site theatrebythelake.com , you can also still phone the box office 017687 74411 for any help about access or getting the right seat for you.

Dorothy said “there’s no place like home” I think there’s no place like Theatre by the Lake for a Christmas treat.

Rating: 5/5