Review: The Wizard of Oz at The Brunton

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The yellow brick road is a path less taken in pantoland. It is a daunting trek for any writer, though if it frightened Wonder Fools’ Co-Founders Jack Nurse and Robbie Gordon, they certainly haven’t shown it. This is a production of significant ambition, precisely what we have come to expect from the duo who transformed the Brunton’s A Christmas Carol into something strikingly modern and refreshing.

However, where Scrooge’s redemption offers a neat episodic structure perfect for the genre, L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz is a novel with far more moving parts. Nurse and Gordon have thrown the kitchen sink at it—including a condensed plot summary of the musical Wicked—and the result is a show that feels overpacked and occasionally hard work for the audience.

A Script with Too Many Moving Parts

Setting aside the 21st-century framing—where Dorothy is a distinctly modern brat looking to escape “Pansas” (Prestonpans anyone?)—this is a fairly straightforward adaptation. A storm sweeps Dorothy’s wee house to Oz; a Scarecrow needs a brain, a Lion lacks courage, and the Tin Man is reimagined as a “Tin-foil hat man”, a clever nod to the actor’s double-role as Dorothy’s conspiracy-prone Uncle Derek.

The writers employ this narrative trick throughout, most Ozians having parallels in Dorothy’s real life: her little brother becomes the Scarecrow (Ben Cunningham), and her landlord-intimidated mother transforms into the Lion (Alex Stewart). While conceptually sound, it’s too sophisticated for the younger demographics to track, while adding complexity rather than genuine narrative depth for the adults.

Crucially, for all, the script lacks the necessary signposting, something Director Bruce Strachan doesn’t seem to have noticed. Pantomime relies on swift induction; the audience must know when to boo and when to cheer. Here, the cues are a little buried under plot. Without early encouragement, the superb Nicola Jo Cully (The Wicked Witch of the West) is forced to openly coax reactions from the crowd later in the proceedings. There is nothing worse than a loud panto playing to a quiet audience, and while that isn’t the case throughout, the silence lingers longer than anyone involved would likely wish.

Cast Struggles with Chemistry and Character

The cast is undoubtedly professional, yet they often seem to be acting in slightly different productions. Sometime West End talent Caitlin Anderson gives a highly polished turn as Dorothy, but her performance is almost too pristine to gel with the rougher, readier sensibilities of her comrades. Furthermore, the writing does her no favours; unlike Scrooge, who evolves, this version of Dorothy begins as a brat and ends much the same. She feels more Mary Poppins—practically perfect and impervious to change—than a flawed person learning a lesson.

Graham Crammond, a Brunton stalwart who was wonderful as Scrooge, feels somewhat wasted here as Glinda. He still has the X-factor essential for a compelling Dame, and his dry ad-libs plaster over the cracks with style, yet he spends too much of the show off-stage. When he does appear, he is saddled with a wordy part that dampens his natural anarchic energy. Even the audience participation segment—delightfully seduced by Crammond for a role in the second act—is ultimately put to minimal and messy use.

Musical Hits and Misses

Musically, the production is a mixed bag, though Music Director Matthew Brown accompanies everyone with a bright, well-recorded soundtrack. Anderson delivers a very sweet take on ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, wisely skewing closer to Eva Cassidy than Judy Garland. Jo Cully also fares well with Lady Gaga’s panto-ubiquitous ‘Abracadabra’, and the use of ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ as the finale is a welcome departure from standard pop tendencies.

However, other choices are less successful. ‘Golden’, plucked from K-Pop Demon Hunters – sent to assault leading ladies’ vocal cords across the 2025 pantosphere – would have been better swapped for something within the assembled talents’ comfortable range. The inclusion of Chappell Roan’s ‘Pink Pony Club’ for the singalong feels a tad forced.

Conclusion

There are, however, many undeniably nice touches. Ethan James’ costume design is one such highlight—ingenious and colourful—and the 20-strong youth cast (particularly the ‘Elf Young Team’) keep the stage alive, proving that dressing teens as bandits is both cheaper and safer than rigging flying monkeys.

Yet, it feels as if Nurse and Gordon have rowed back from the dramatic heart of their Christmas Carol in search of a more traditional panto. They are capable of better subversion than this. I would have preferred they took fewer risks with the playlist and more with the character arcs—be it embracing the full lunacy of the Tin Foil Hat Uncle, sharpening the Witch’s tame villainy, or just giving everyone involved more idiosyncratic attitude.

The Wizard of Oz is fine. But for a writing team of this calibre, “fine” is a disappointment. However, if it never quite coalesces into a coherent comedy, there’s still plenty to enjoy and admire.

Featured Image: The Wizard of Oz Scarecrow, Tin Man, Dorothy & Lion credit Rob McDougall

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The Wizard of Oz will play at the Haddington Corn Exchange and then Loretto School Theatre until December 27th 2025. For tickets and more information, click here.

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