The Wizard Of Oz At The Little Theatre, Leicester Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by LW
The Little Theatre, Leicester, is exactly that; a small theatre, however, the theatre is run almost entirely by dedicated volunteers, from the bar staff and stewards to the people on the stage and the production team. It was great to see a diverse range of people in these roles, demonstrating the importance of supporting local theatre and exactly how many people value the venue and its work. The venue is ideally placed for parking and a drink or something to eat ahead of the play. There is also a bar in the venue which opens before and after the performance.
Infirmary Dramatic Operatic & Literary Society, better known as IDOLS. Formed in 1955 and are affiliated to the Leicester Royal Infirmary. As a registered charity they raise funds by putting on musical shows such as this week’s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s beloved tale The Wizard of Oz.
The story follows the adventure of young girl Dorothy Gale, played by Stacey Henson, as she and her dog Toto are transported to Oz by a tornado. Along the way on her quest to return home she meets Munchkins, Witches, a Scarecrow, Tin Man and a Lion and of course a Wizard!
Stacy Henson is vocally a formidable talent – her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow was beautiful and utterly moving. So much so it is a shame that we aren’t given more opportunities to hear her talent in other solos. She effectively conveyed the childlike surprise and innocence of Dorothy at every twist and turn in her adventure. Whispers amongst the audience suggest that she has been very unwell of late – a shining example of theatre people ensuring that ‘the show must go on!’. A massive role to play in such circumstance.
The other on stage highlight for me were the children! Having seen the story performed many times I was expecting the children to perform as the Munchkins and never to be seen again. However, in this performance they were integral to the performance, appearing again and again as the main chorus, and for the most part taking the mantle from the adult chorus to play the roles of the Winkies and the Flying Monkeys. There were a few little upcoming stars who really caught my eye and I hope to see treading the boards for many years to come. I am sure that the second group will also be as good as these little starlets. The adult chorus also contained some excellent performers who I hope we will see in larger roles in future performances.
Norman Buckby is great fun as cowardly lion and provides us with some joyful moments as he suitable hammed up the role to verge on pantomime. Ben Cusack as the scarecrow losing his legs was very amusing! However, the moments which the audience enjoyed the most were inevitably where Anabel, in role as Toto, was on stage, she was just the right side of mischievous to provide us with some funny moments but still behaved well enough that she didn’t cause the cast any great issue.
It was clear that the budget for the show was small, but it was used effectively and indeed the programme mentions that the society are struggling financially. With this in mind, I took the time to watch carefully the cast on stage and saw a group of people who had dedicated a great many hours to the rehearsal process and the creation of all that we saw on the stage, and a great amount that we didn’t. Who stood in the finale beaming with pride. I saw the next generation give huge smiles to family and friends in the audience as they heard and saw the audience celebrate what they had done. Amateur theatre is a sector continuing to recover from the pandemic, and needs our support. This isn’t the best show you will ever see but it is so much more when you look around and realise what a treat a trip to the theatre is; and how wonderful it is to see a group of people loving participating in their hobby – and remember it’s back to work and school for them the morning after and ready to go again the next night!
The Wizard of Oz runs until Saturday12th October 2024 with tickets priced between £18 and £19.
Tickets are available online https://thelittletheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-wizard-of-oz/
Or by calling 0116 2551302