The Wizard Of Oz may be a classic children’s story but this production is definitely not for the kids. For one thing, they might find all the bare breasts distracting. Set in a nightmare in which poor Dorothy is stuck, this work hallmarks enough recognisable elements from the classic version to have resonance, but often twists these moments into something dark and unsettling. A heavily stylised production, with little text, but full of garish colours and odd effects, The Wizard Of Oz doesn’t always let the audience in but when it does, it gives them plenty to think about. The most striking set pieces are when Dorothy, a young and quietly expressive Emily Milledge, meets her three companions, the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion. Jane Montgomery Griffiths is fiercely beautiful as the broken, stripped-bare Tin Man, cast adrift without her heart.
Paul Capsis, playing the Lion in a skirt and full curly wig is the only man on the stage, meaning there’s plenty to unpack here from a feminist perspective. The play reflects on perceptions of older women, the beauty myth and Dorothy’s dawning realisation of who she’s becoming. Director Adena Jacobs has kept this show tightly wound at a sharp 70 minutes and gives her audience plenty to ponder.
