‘The Wizard of Oz’ is a celebration of dreams, an extremely fulfilling and heartwarming sensation which must be seen. Starring Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood as The Wicked Witch of The West, and Allan Stewart as The Wizard, this spectacular production will be truly magical experience for all the family.
Craig Revel Horwood was outstanding in his portrayal of Ms Gulch & The Wicked Witch of The West. Revel Horwood kept the audience on their toes throughout the production, using intonation and pitch to create an extremely interesting and complex character. Revel Horwood had great energy and took every moment to enjoy the audience’s response. At times this style of acting he portrayed felt slightly off when talking to Dorothy as Tulley’s realism contrasted with Revel Horwood’s fun approach to the character which had striking similarity to a pantomime dame.
Allan Stewart radiates absolute star power. Stewart is encapsulating on stage, a real entertainer. Throughout his performance of Professor Marvel & The Wizard, Stewart used quirky character choices to elevate the characters further. Steward embodied both characters fully, he has a wonderful ability to guide you through the characters journey using his great sincerity. Above all Stewart allows you to relax and indulge in the joy.
Aviva Tulley demanded the attention of the audience from the outset and blew us away. Tulley showed huge dedication to the journey of self discovery, her character journey was perfectly paced. The audience warmed to Tulley immediately, the character she created displayed a modernistic take yet the character was rooted in traditional values. Her vocals were so healthy throughout the performance and while she performed you could hear a pin drop within the packed theatre.
Benjamin Yates was such a light hearted relief throughout the performance, his depiction of The Scarecrow and Hunk was excellent. The delivery of his dialogue was excellent, filled to the brim with exceptional comedic influences. Yates showed no inhibition and allowed the audience to fully immerse themselves in the storytelling of the performance. At times as The Hunk his diction was slightly poor, however, this was rectified almost immediately.
Femi Akinfolarin showed great dedication to the roles of The Tin Man and Hickory. Akinfolarin impressed the audience with his movement, his interpretation of the role was fun and fresh. His use of weight and pace sold his movement from the offset and brought the character to life. Akinfolarin genuinely seemed to enjoy performing and his passion showed. The only critique of his performance was that at times he struggled vocally during numbers.
Nic Greenshields as The Cowardly Lion and Zeke had the audience in the palm of his hands immediately. Greenshields comedic timing was absolutely excellent, he utilised each minute he had on stage to display his brilliant craftsmanship. The audience wanted more of The Cowardly Lion between Greenshields’ excellent comedy and powerhouse vocals the audience were raving about him.
Emily Bull as Glinda & Aunt Em brought a fantastic lightness and warmth to the production. Her vocal runs were extremely fun. At times it felt her voice was being slightly stretched in comparison to numbers she completed with ease.
Abigail Matthews as Toto was extremely creative, puppetry is always so exciting to watch, Matthews did an excellent job of creating a great personality for Toto and even creating great comedic moments.
David Burrows had a great character journey as Uncle Henry. The character has a short amount of stage time yet Burrows created a fully rounded character with a great journey for the audience to follow. His physicality and vocals showed great status.
The ensemble within this number gave vibrant, high energy performances which made a huge impact on the audience and to the overall production. Each individual had created their own world and relationships which made for extremely interesting scenes and movement behind the main dialogue. The ensemble consisted of Adam Craig, Cole Dunn, Tyler Ephraim, Olivia Kate Holding, Thomas Kalek, Sadie Levett, Kelsie-Rae Marshall, Martin McCarthy, Rose Ouellette, Fanja Parent, Alexandra Regan, Nathan Routledge and Sydney Spencer.
Director Nikolai Foster has hit the nail on the head with this production. Foster strikes the absolute perfect balance between the old time classic tale and the world we live in today. The expertly placed no-man’s-land in between the LED screen and gauze was visually stunning, a land of possibility. This striking direction allowed creativity to weave throughout the performance inspiring the audience and truly creating a space where dreams do come true.
This production was visually absolutely stunning. The set design by Colin Richmond was excellent, the details within the set were incredible and brought the audience’s attention immediately to the minor details and effort that Richmond had put into the production. The lighting design by Ben Cracknell added an exceptional wow factor to the performance, the lighting completely heighted the emotion causing the audience to leave the auditorium feeling elated. Alongside this the video design by Douglas O’Connell was cinematic, at times the graphics gave off a video game feel, though the use of the screen to represent the wizard and the witches minions felt eerie and telling of today’s society.
The choreography by Shay Barclay was packing a punch, extremely high energy. The formations were extremely clean and visually pleasing. The choreography was greatly varied and allowed the ensemble to shine. Costume and Puppet designer Rachael Canning executes such a wonderful vision for this production, the costumes are bright and vivacious and the puppet of Toto is exceptional.
Featuring the iconic original score from the Oscar-winning MGM film, including Over The Rainbow, Follow The Yellow Brick Road and We’re Off To See the Wizard – with additional songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The orchestration by David Cullen is exceptionally beautiful and expertly carried out by musical director Iestyn Griffiths.
‘The Wizard of Oz’ is a timeless classic, despite the production’s vast history this interpretation feels brand new. The production is vivacious and lifts the spirits of its audiences reminding them of the power of theatre. The production takes you on an incredible journey of exploration and wows you with technical creativity throughout.
Get your tickets here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-wizard-of-oz/kings-theatre-glasgow/calendar/2024-07-05
Theatre Scotland 
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