There’s no
place like Darlington
The Chuckles of Oz
Darlington Civic Theatre
Until Sunday 11th
January 2015
The Wizard of Oz is a firm family favourite that is regularly on
television. The Chuckle Brothers are also family favourites and it is
interesting to see what happens when these worlds collide.
Glinda
The Good Witch (Beth Stobbart) happily lives in Munchkinkand, which is in the
North, with lots of Munchkins. The show starts brightly with Pharrel William’s
hit Happy which is a great platform
for Stobbart. Dorothy (Lauren Varnham) appears from Kansas in her flying house that
kills the Wicked Witch of the East. Not surprisingly this displeases her
sister, who is the Wicked Witch of the West (Emma Francis) and the future
doesn’t look good for poor Dorothy who simply wants to get home. Glinda and the
Munchkins show Dorothy the yellow brick road which leads the way to the Wizard
who will grant her wish to go home. So off she goes picking up a Cowardly Lion
(Phil Corbitt), a Scarecrow (Adam C Booth) and a Tin Man (Danny Potts) who also
needed dreams to be fulfilled.
Appearing
between the scenes are Barry Elliott and Paul Elliott who add jokes, songs and
funny skits. As soon as they appear the audience are up for their kind of high
jinks. Highlights include acrobatics and a cooking lesson which, needless to
say, doesn’t go as planned.
Another
element of Darlington’s production, which
seems to be uncommon in 2014, is a live band to back the songs rather than
piped music. The show feels very genuine as a result, with the usual mix of
popular songs, under the musical direction of Joe Morley.
A
number of children’s shows recently have featured 3D animation sets and their
inclusion seems to be more of a gimmick.
With Chuckles of Oz the two 3D sets seemed to meld better with the
action and provided many laughs and screams as assorted creatures hurtled into
the audience’s laps.
This
show benefits from a much stronger narrative than many classic pantomimes.
Varnham is engaging as Dorothy, her companions are loveable and the evil witch
makes a suitable source of booing for the children. Special mention to Toto the
dog who never puts a foot wrong.
It
is the Chuckle Brothers that are the main draw and they don’t let the crowd
down. Barry and Paul know what makes such an evening special for their many
fans.
Chuckles of Oz is a great
show which sparkles for the young and the young at heart.
This
review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR
(www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen
@panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo.
Tickets:
The
Chuckles of Oz runs at Darlington Civic Theatre from Saturday
6 December 2014 until Sunday 11 January 2015.
Tickets
are available from 01325 486555 or online at www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk
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