The Wiz // Hope Mill Theatre Manchester 2021
by Charlie Smalls (music and lyrics) and William F Brown (book)
director: Matthew Xia
arrangements and musical supervisor: Sean Green
choreographer: Leah Hill
lighting designer: Simisola Majekodunmi
sound designer: Tony Gayle
video designer: George Reeve
associate costume designer: Maybelle Laye
spray artwork: RIZ
photographer: Pamela Raith
★★★★★ “A sizzling, joyous new production. This isn’t Kansas any more, but 21st-century Manchester.” The Observer
★★★★★ “Dorothy enters a Technicolor Oz that pops like a 1980s Spike Lee movie through a small TV silently flickering with images of Black Lives Matter protests in her drab living room. This is a vibrant fantasy world but one with serious subtextual layers created by Simon Kenny. The design is part of a rich and nuanced seam of cultural and political references flowing beneath this yellow brick road.” The Stage
★★★★ “A vivid urban landscape of street art and neon lights…a celebration of the here and now, situating the magic of Oz firmly within the city environment.“ The Guardian
★★★★ “The creative team work wonders. Simon Kenny’s designs are splashy and fun.” The Times
★★★★ The Telegraph