A delightful panto for the whole family with cameo appearances from Sir Ian Mckellen and Jeremy Corbyn.
The Wicked Witches is a cauldron of a panto with the usual pantomime chaos—slapstick, shouts of “he’s behind you”, a smidgen of politics thrown in together with a smattering of ‘wokery’ (I approve) and an overall message to the kids and adults alike about the importance of accepting people as they are.
The hallmarks of a panto are all present: camp costumes, gleeful audience participation especially from the kids, and characters you’ll root for or hiss at without shame. The make-up and design don’t disappoint.
The twist in the casting of the actors comes comes in the form of Islington MP, Jeremy Corbyn, who plays the role of the Wise Wizard of, wait for it, Oz-Lington. “It’s me, the Wizard,” Corbyn says. “I’ve been very busy planning a party, a new party. It’s harder than it sounds”. How very apt.
This panto, after all, is being shown in the Borough of Islington which is well known for having liberal minded residents. It has been rumoured that they use The Guardian newspaper to line their drawers with. Ok, I made that bit up but you get the point about the connection between Islington and a woke panto.
Dorothy identifies as a non-binary person and, henceforth, is to be known as Doro. I love that. Tin Man, henceforth, is to be known as Tin.
It is a storyline you’ll follow only if you’re willing to surrender to silliness. Wicked Witches offers that, yes, but with a clever coat of modern polish.
There is a splendid cameo (via video link )appearance by Sir Ian McKellen as Toto the dog who refers to himself as a, ‘washed up rock star dog’, and proceeds to make jokes about James Corden. The witticism about Corden emanates from the film, CATS, which they both starred in. Sir Ian’s appearance in this panto may be a short and sharp one but it does not disappoint and leaves a lasting impression long after you have left the theatre.
If you’re looking for a festive afternoon or night of laughter, colour, songs you’ll hum to, and a panto that knows what it is and leans into the fun this is it, I’d absolutely recommend booking, especially with family (you can pick family version or adults-only) and friends alike. It, still delivers the warm, joyful “goosebump-holidays” feeling while being a bit sharper than your average seasonal show.
Definitely worth the trip.
