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MUSICAL: The Wizard of Oz
THE Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre tackle the big one for their big summer production at the Guildford venue.
After huge success with Oliver! last year, this time they are turning to The Wizard of Oz for the summer magic (Thursday July 2-Saturday July 4).
As co-director Adam Forde explains, it's all part of upping the stakes – a change in the nature of their main-stage summer productions.
"Most years we have done something new, something that has been written for us or an adaptation that has been done for us, but last year was the first time we did a big blockbuster. And Oliver! was an enormous success. We sold out most performances. It was on the back of the Lloyd Webber thing and the BBC's Search For a Nancy or whatever it was called – and we had better Nancys than they ever found!"
One third of the reason for the change in programming was financial, Adam admits: "This costs us a little bit more, but we know that we will get a bigger audience, with the theatre being in the state it is. We have lost our Arts Council funding and I know that lots of other theatres have had theirs reduced. So we can't afford the luxury productions in the way that we used to.
"But the bigger reason is that it was time that we really stretched ourselves as a youth theatre. We had done some big shows in the past like Peter Pan and Arabian Nights, but sometimes our summer shows were quite low-key shows, an hour or an hour and a half. We felt it was time and that we were capable of putting on one of the biggies.
"It's a challenge to us as much as a financial incentive. We wanted a big-name show and Oliver! was a smash. It was as good a production of Oliver! as I have ever seen.
"So we thought 'right, we can do this, we are not just a little cutesy youth theatre, we are capable of tackling the big ones'. But there are really only a handful of shows that are really suitable for youth theatre – though The Wizard of Oz certainly is. It's a great title. Everyone knows it. Everyone loves the songs. Everyone knows the music. And it is a fantastic show."
Tickets on 01483 440000.
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Weather for Horsham
Thursday 24 May 2012
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