New touring show of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz heads to Ordsall Hall

Residents will be welcomed to ‘Hit the Yellow Brick Road’ as a reimagined Wonderful Wizard of Oz comes to Salford. 

This adaptation of Oz, by the acclaimed theatre company, Paperback, will visit many towns and villages across the country between July and August.

The tour will arrive at Salford’s Ordsall Hall, where they will perform on Wednesday 23 July at 7pm.

However, this version of the well-known story will follow the fortunes of Dot, a young Brummie in care, having relocated “Oz” from Kansas to Birmingham.

It takes the audience, along with the Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow, on a raucous exploration of what “home” really means.

With Paperback’s founder George Attwell Gerhards and co-founder and director Lucy Bird collaborating with composer Steve McCourt to produce original songs inspired by the sounds of Birmingham, including UB40, Ozzy Osbourne, The Streets and Nick Drake.

It is a truly magical and witty reimagining of Birmingham as the Emerald City.

Written and created by Paperback Theatre, the show was performed at the Little but Live festival, and it follows the success of their re-creation of Kenneth Grahame’s ‘The Wind in the Willows’ which also became a national tour.

The company also collaborated with local schools, running songwriting workshops and using the ideas generated to inspire the musical score.

And they are committed to creating affordable family theatre and taking their performances beyond traditional theatre venues into open air and community spaces.

“We revel in giving a new slant to much-loved stories,” Lucy Bird, Paperback’s co-founder and director, said: “And we want as many people as possible to enjoy them.”

She continued: “We have brought theatre from Shakespeare to Wind in the Willows to new audiences with energy, imagination, and a good deal of hilarity.

“So, follow the signs and find us somewhere over the rainbow for a fast-paced and silly saunter down the streets of the Emerald City.”

Audiences interested in the reimagined Wizard of Oz show, will be able to purchase tickets here. 

Adult tickets will cost £15, with under-eighteen tickets costing £10 – and for families of two adults and two children, will be able to purchase tickets for £45.

More information about the show and the tour can be found here.