Wizard of Oz present with Wicked Witch on bike dubbed ‘atrocious’ as a whole lot stroll out
Theatre-goers are seeking refunds after hundreds walked out of the ‘atrocious’ Wicked Wizard of Oz show at Manchester’s AO Arena on December 23
Furious theatre-goers are pursuing refunds after criticising a ‘panto-esque and amateurish’ rendition of the Wizard of Oz.
Hundreds of patrons are believed to have departed the ‘dreadful’ Wicked Wizard of Oz: A Cirque Spectacular at Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday evening (December 23). Prior to the event, it had pledged a ‘brand-new, breath-taking Cirque staging’ of Frank L. Baum’s beloved tale, advertising ‘pantomime meets cirque – be amazed!’
However, the production has been bombarded with criticism from audience members who claim they were left ‘let down’ by the show. The Manchester Evening News has interviewed several attendees from the performance.
Michelle Radford, from Bury, commented: “It was atrocious. I have never seen anything so bad in my life. We presumed it would be themed around the Wizard of Oz, we were wrong. We thought it would be like Cirque de Soleil, it was presented as a fantastic show. I am speechless for how bad it was.”
Michelle reported that crew members handling props could be observed ‘dashing about as if something had gone awry’, describing the performances as ‘resembling an amateur production. “It wasn’t professional at all. It just wasn’t what I expected. There were a lot of people walking out before the break,” she continued.
She mentioned that she typically attends a theatrical performance with two companions annually during the festive period. One of her friends suggested they should depart during the interval, but Michelle was curious to see how it concluded.
“When it came back on there was a lion dressed as a tiger walking across a tightrope. It was very, very basic, not the ‘spectacular’ event it was supposed to be. It was dreadful,” she said.
“If we wanted to go and see a panto, we’d have gone to see Jason Manford! At least you know what you are going to get. The tinman was in a Transformers costume. Toto was a sheepdog. It was laughable. It was such a disappointing night. It was false advertising.
“I’m asking for a refund, but I haven’t had a response yet. It was an absolute shambles. The munchkins were on stilts. The wicked witch was on a bike on top of a golf buggy – in the trailer she was flying around. It was unbelievable.”
The organisers of Wicked Wizard of Oz have defended their show following the complaints – pointing out that the reception to previous shows in Blackpool had been ‘fantastic’. They also added the show contains some jokes in the pantomime tradition of being silly and “maybe 0.1% do not appreciate one joke in the show”.
However, another customer, who requested anonymity, revealed she had brought her two children aged 12 and 9 to the performance. They said: “We had a high expectation, it was not really what the Wizard of Oz was about. The jokes were not very good for the kids. They were making jokes about penises, about Donald Trump, the kids didn’t really understand them.”
Theatre producer Tracie Ross from Bolton, who attended with her grown-up daughter, expressed her disappointment. She remarked: “I support local theatre and have been going to the theatre all my life. It started and there was no ‘welcome to the show’, no opening number, it was two men picking up a load of boxes on the stage and balancing them. It just didn’t hit. The dancers costumes looked cheap and tacky.
“During the tornado, they came into the crowd and were shooting the crowd with water guns. After 15 minutes I left.”
Tracie revealed that when she returned later to retrieve her vehicle, she encountered one of the stewards operating a ‘clicker’, which he pressed each time someone departed. “He said 800 people had left through that door alone. It was just bad. I don’t understand how the arena didn’t vet the production before it came,” she added.
A representative for The World’s Biggest Productions, the producers of the show, responded: “Wicked Wizard Of Oz opened in Blackpool to a fantastic response in October.
“The promotional videos advertising the show featured the acts that appeared in the performance in Manchester either taken during our workshop rehearsals or at live performances in Blackpool.
“The show title ‘Wicked Wizard of Oz’ has a smaller typeface descriptor “cirque spectacular” and ‘panto meets cirque’ which reasonably identified that circus elements would be included in a panto style show. Six of our talented circus cast won silver medals at this year’s European circus festivals.
“It was never suggested this was a Cirque de Soleil production and their forthcoming UK tour has tickets from £66 – £372 and when compared to our prices of £29 – £70 it would be unrealistic to expect similar production values as Soleil.
“Our show, like all pantomimes, contains some jokes in the pantomime tradition of being silly. Over 150,000 people attend our shows annually and if maybe 0.1% do not appreciate one joke in the show, it feels rather unbalanced reporting against the mass who enjoy a form of humour that has survived two hundred years.”
A representative for the AO Arena stated: “As a venue, we have no control over the content of shows and therefore we were recommending people get in touch with the production company – [email protected].”
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