The Wizard of Oz at Birmingham Old Rep Theatre
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Tue 26 Nov 2024 - Tue 31 Dec 2024
When actor and director Lorna Laidlaw was growing up in Birmingham she missed out on the festive tradition of pantomime but she’s making up for the experience now as she directs the BOA Group pantomime
Wizard of Oz.
The production, which plays at Birmingham's Old Rep Theatre between Tuesday November 26 and Tuesday December 31, features a cast of professional actors in the lead roles along with BOA Group students in the ensemble and working backstage in a host of departments.
But while these young people are learning all elements of stagecraft, for Lorna theatre was a world away.
“For my generation a lot of us didn’t go to panto or to the theatre because we couldn’t afford it,” says Lorna.
“There’s a lot of Afro-Caribbean people, my generation, who didn’t go to the theatre.”
So Lorna's first saw a panto as an adult.
“It’s a weird tradition when you’ve not grown up with it. And it’s the weird tradition of having to shout back. In theatre, you’re told to be quiet and not shout but in panto, it’s completely the opposite as shouting out and being engaged is really important. Also when you go to pantos, everyone knows the songs and they are all singing along but you are Billy-No-Mates and don’t know the songs at all.”
Fortunately Lorna, who became interested in theatre when she took her Duke of Edinburgh Awards as a teenager and went on to be a familiar face to viewers as Mrs Tembe in Doctors and Aggie Bailey in Coronation Street, quickly caught up on the customs of panto.
And this year she has worked with former Women and Theatre artistic director and fellow Birmingham actor Janice Connolly to create a script which she says will appeal to all audiences.
“There are very few people who haven’t heard of the Wizard of Oz,” Lorna says.
“It’s one of those timeless stories that everyone can enjoy whether you’re very tiny or one of our fantastic elders. And in this show the music is fantastic, the dance routines are wonderful. It’s so imaginative and creative, how we’ve done the set, how we’ve told the story. I think everyone is going to have an incredible time.”
The team have taken the Wizard of Oz story which is familiar from the 1939 Hollywood film and given it the pantomime treatment.
“All the characters that people remember from the film will be there,” Lorna says.
“Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Lion, the Witches, but it’s little things we’ve changed. So, for example, our Munchkins are called the Munchkin Blinders so they are going to be Peaky Blinder-esqe.”
At its heart is the classic
Wizard of Oz tale.
“Although it’s a panto the story is solid, what you see on the film happens in our show. But you have to remember that the film is not a comedy, it’s very dark so I think what we’ve done with this is actually up the ante. There are great dance routines, Dorothy’s journey, meeting all the characters. I think what we’ve done is kept the story true and followed Dorothy’s journey but we’ve given it this fantastic panto twist.”
Janice and Lorna were also determined to ensure it would be a family show.
“We worked on making it family-friendly,” says Lorna.
“We’ve made it a little more accessible to small children, teenagers and older audiences. And we worked through it to make sure that there are lots of Birmingham references placed in the script. As adults there are bits you might think are really funny but we want children to enjoy the show and I don’t want a parent having to explain to a child what the joke is about. It’s about getting all of the levels right. There’s enough spectacle for the toddlers to sit down and watch it, enough for a teenager, enough for your parents and elders so everybody gets something out of it but you don’t have to think that’s too near to the knuckle.”
Forming part of the team is 17-year-old BOA Stage and Screen Production Academy student Lacey Powers who is stage manager.
“As stage manager I’ve been in rehearsals from the start,” says Lacey, from Solihull.
“I like seeing how it’s developed since then. My role means I’ve been checking up on all of the departments, seeing if they need anything, seeing if they are stuck with anything and if I could help. It’s been very busy, we’ve had long hours with rehearsals but it doesn’t really feel like work because it’s been so much fun. Lorna is such a nice person that she doesn’t make it feel like you’re’ working. It’s really nice to be around her.”
Lacey says audiences are in for a treat.
“I think the show is going to be amazing. Seeing it in rehearsals, it really makes me laugh. The jokes are really good and I think everybody will enjoy it. It’s for everybody - the kids and the adults. In rehearsals we’ve kind of been acting as the audience for the cast, so we’re hoping that the audience will respond like we did. Watching the rehearsals and watching the show there’s never a moment when we’re not smiling, there’s not a dull moment. So I think the audience, when they leave, they’ll be smiling and either they will want to come back or they will recommend it to someone else as it’s such a fun show.”
BOA Stage and Screen Production Academy student and ensemble cast member Kesia Antoine, aged 17, from Aston says she has learnt a great deal from taking part in the production.
“I’m getting more experience of working in theatre shows, so getting experience on how the scene works, even down to the lingo of downstage or upstage,” she says.
“Working on this show has helped with rehearsal work and gaining experience as an actress which I can apply in the future whether onstage or onscreen.”
She continues:
“I know that it’s a small ensemble but when you hear all of the voices when you’re singing it sounds like a massive production. You think you’re hearing 100 voices in the room when it’s really just 20 of us. I think as an actor working on this, it’s how much you put into it. As long as you come into the rehearsals putting in your all then it really adds to things and helps everyone else bring their all. You tend to look at everyone and think they are doing their best so I want to do my best and it kind of reflects on everyone else in the role and that adds to what you’re putting in.”
And Kesia hopes seeing the show will be a special experience for audiences.
“When you come to the theatre it’s a one-time thing, it only happens that specific way once. There might be something slightly different that you might or might not notice in every performance so there’s always something slightly different with each show. So even if you see the show and recommend it to a friend and they go and see it, it will be slightly different for them. So you’ve seen the same show but in different ways, and I think acknowledging that and having your own experience is a nice thing to do.”
The BOA Group's production of
The Wizard of Oz plays at The Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham until Tuesday December 31, see
here for more information and tickets.
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298819 - 2024-12-05 10:27:41