The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at Northern Stage

You know already that we need little in the way of convincing to attend one of Northern Stage's productions and we are great fans of their Christmas show, last years Get Santa was the first 'big people' (7 and up) show that I had taken Peanut to see and we love love loved it. so when we were invited along to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz we said yes immediately

 

'Join Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion this Christmas for a brand new re-twisted production of the classic children’s story. Expect magic, mayhem and new music in this festive treat for adventurers aged 7+ (and their families)'

 

And so we did indeed join them, this year we were a party of 2 adults a 5 and a 7 year old, I was nervous how The Golden Child at age 5 would find it all but Peanut has talked about this for months so I was sure she would be fine. I'm not a huge Oz fan so have only seen the movie a couple of times and my kids haven't seen it at all (sorry sorry I'm a bad mammy) but I did think this was a very brave choice on Northern Stages part, after all Wizard of Oz has a huge and devoted following of fans, so to create a 're twisted ' version of the story for the stage could have been a big risk.

I'm pleased to say it wasn't! The story doesnt follow the movie exactly but does stay mostly true to the original. There are new twists on old characters and also some new characters too. Tessa Parr plays Dorothy with a quirky edge and not a touch of gingham or 'girly' attire She does however portray kindness courage and encouragement for those in need. We loved Alice Blundell's healthy hippy version of Glinda and even more so her puppetteering of Winkie Slave. Carl Kennedy gave a perfectly humourous and witty Tin Man, I mean Nick Chopper

 

and Micheal Blair drew me in to his love struck Lion character very well indeed. With a very convincing sometimes funny and sometimes scary Wicked Witch, Zoe Lambert had the crowd suitably on edge especially towards the end.

There were points when my Golden Child was afraid, especially at the half tiger half bear creature sent by the Wicked Witch to stop Dorothy and her gang. The kids didn't quite get all the humour (But I don't think they were meant too)but they did laugh and cheer and enjoy the show. The army of mice were favourites with the kids but I have to say the humour of mice pulling mouse poo amunition from their pants was a little lost on me!

My favourite parts of the show were the amazingly clever sets and props, the beautifully designed costumes and the music!

 

Performed by Jeremy Bradfield (who also plays The Wizard) the music is all performed in a tiny cubible on stage and its amazing to watch him create fabulous tunes and sounds with many many instruments! The kids loved Winkie and honestly I think the grown ups all found him (it?) rather endearing too.

 

I could wax lyrial about all the things we loved, like the supporting parts cleverly performed by the ensemble, the funny lovely munchkins, the brilliant Direction from Mark Calvert but I don't want to give too much away. Let me tell you the show is cleverly written, brilliantly designed and performed fantastically. Its entertaining, scary, funny and uplifting all at once. Its great value for money and you should definitely go see it. The show runs until 2nd January 2016 with tickets starting at £14.50 And you can book tickets online or by calling the box office on 0191 2305151

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Posted with Blogsy by The Monkeyfooted Mummy

The Christmas Grump at Northern Stage

 This past week we visited one of my most favourite places in the world, Northern Stage, to see their under 6s show, The Christmas Grump We have been to see the under 6's show every year since my Peanut was born and we have loved each and every one of them, you can read our review of last years Tallest Tales from The Furthest Forest here. Everything about the Northern Stage under 6's show is perfect for children (and their grown ups!) The casual seating arrangement and informal feel, the fabulous set and brilliant songs, the superbly written story and fantastic performances from the cast.

This Years show The Christmas Grump is the story of Mr Scratch who should be cockerhoop happy, he's a toymaker and he's rich what more could you need. But Mr Scratch is a grump and he need to learn some lessons, from three very lovely children, who just love Christmas. Inspired by Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol, you'd already got that hadn't you? The Christmas Grump is a brilliant story, written by Susan Mulholland and Directed by Mark Calvert  with a gorgeous set created by Andrew Stephenson. The costumes are lovely and the songs (all original music by Kate Doherty) will have you singing along, and tapping your feet so its a good job that the story and CD are available to buy when you are there. Performances are brilliant from the small cast , only four members. Who are woderfully funny, engaging and convincing all at the same time.

 

Without any doubt both mine and Termites favourite part of the show is the Christmas Elves, the whole scene had me chuckling heartily.

Your cast are:

•  Ruth Johnson - after playing the Penguin in The Prince and The Penguin, Mole in The Wind in the Willows and starring in Shhh... A Christmas Story Ruth is delighted to be back at Northern Stage for Christmas.
•  Alice Blundell – a graduate of NORTH, Alice has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, Theatre 503 and has been a member of the National Youth Theatre since 2005. She performed at Northern Stage in 2011 as part of Springboard, was a founder member of The Letter Room and is very happy to be back for her first professional job.
• Michael Blair – also a graduate of NORTH and a member of The Letter Room, Michael graduated from Northumbria University, has featured in new writing festivals (INK), undertaken improvisation workshops with The Suggestibles and performed extensively at The People’s Theatre in Newcastle.
•  Alexandra Tahnee - after appearing in Byker Grove in her teens Alex went on to study at RADA and East 15 before returning to the North East to take part in NORTH. She recently performed in Jerusalem at The People’s Theatre. Alex first performed at Northern Stage as part of Springboard 2011 and is delighted to be back

This visit was just for Termite and I and she happily sat watching the show and munching her snacks for the full hour, with a little break for dancing and clapping to the tunes of course. Which in my book is high praise indeed, if you can keep a 15 month toddler enthralled you've cracked it for the rest of your audience! I cant wait to go back after Christmas with Peanut and The Golden Child as well and they are really excited and even though she's now a big 6 year old my Peanut will not here any talk of not seeing the 'little show' as she has always called it!

For us Christmas isnt complete without a visit to northern Stage and if you can only do one thing this Christmas it should definatley be coming to see The Christmas Grump it is another resounding success from a marvelous creative team and brilliant cast. If you haven't booked your tickets I would get them sorted quick smart because this show is a real popular one. You can book online and you can connect with Northern Stage on Facebook or Twitter

Keep you eyes peeled for our review of Get Santa next wee.

All pictures courtesy of Topher Mcgrillis