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A big thank you to the Front of House team for a very warm welcome. It is always a pleasure to come to Holland-on-Sea.

The  opening scene quickly introduced us to the familiar pairing of Dorothy and her dog Toto. A slightly rebellious Dorothy, played by Emma Wigg and her rather naughty, always hungry, but very lovable dog played by Sarah Rushworth. The pair maintained both character and relationship throughout the show.

The characters of sweet Aunt Em, Sheila Bolton and the nasty neighbour Edna, Jacqueline Walker were a good introduction to the personalities which would grow and develop into their later witchy antics. I particularly liked the clever play on words when the hirelings introduced themselves-  Howard Lyon with the middle name Lee.

Another change of scene and the audience met The Wizard, Barry Carder and his servant and sidekick Drip played by Tony Carnell. This comedy duo kept up a good paced banter throughout the piece which needed a bigger and younger audience to fully appreciate them.

The hurricane showed some good sound and lighting effects all produced by David Lye from a very small desk. As Dorothy and Toto tried to understand where they were in strolled Cliff Edwards as the very hippy Munchy who was of course Australian!

I really enjoyed the scenes in the Witches Kitchen. The set was atmospheric and the costumes and make up were brilliant. Sheila Bolton, Momby and Jacqueline Walker, Enid were transformed and were most convincing in their new role as witches. Those noses were amazing. The dynamic between the pair was a highlight of the show.

The introduction of those well known characters, Scarecrow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion was a delight. I really must congratulate the costume and makeup team of David Lye and Sam Aspinall for their work on creating these so convincingly. The trio of Trisha Hunter, Tim Burrett and Victoria Gusterson were so successful in giving their characters just the right personalities. I liked the twist that gave us Aslan trying to get back to Narnia.

Act 2 moved  from The Emerald City to The Witches Kitchen and back again. Each set was beautifully painted but the scene changes slowed the pace of the piece. This was quickly forgotten as the cast whisked the story along. Jacqueline Walker gave us a super performance as a true pantomime witch with great cackling and rapport with the audience. This was a good contrast to Sheila Bolton's lovely gentler witch which was most obvious in the  'Strictly Witching' competition. A clever touch given the date of the show.

The Director Justine Smith and the whole team are to be congratulated for a lively show. Every character was played truly and the costumes and make up really enhanced each person. The Wicked Witches of Oz deserved a bigger audience.