The Wonderful – Theatre Peckham, London

A review of The Wonderful at Theatre Peckham. This feel-good and fun take on The Wizard of Oz blends a voyage of self-discovery with a cool Afrofuturist aesthetic.

The Wonderful

I love a good Christmas show. It’s such a good time of year for things that are fun, creative, and don’t take themselves too seriously. And while The Wonderful isn’t a Christmas-themed show, it very much falls into this category. It’s family friendly, entertains the adults, and you can sip a mulled wine while you watch it. Perfect!

The Wonderful is a take on The Wizard of Oz. The story has been modernised and adapted before, notable in The Wiz (which coincidentally has been revived this year at the Hope Mill Theatre). But where The Wiz filters the story through African American culture, The Wonderful achieves something much more relevant to its audience. Dorothy is Efe, who is swept from Peckham to the Afrofuturist world of Ozanda. In a time of so much uncertainty and fear, a message which inspires young people (and older people too) to overcome adversity and channel their inner strength is important and timely.

An Afrofuturist Oz

I really loved the aesthetic of The Wonderful. Avid blog readers will remember that I posted about an Afrosurrealist photography exhibition at the Horniman a while back. These terms may be new to many of you, and you can read more on them here. But in a nutshell, Afrofuturism combines elements of science fiction, magical realism and African tradition to speculate on the future. Wakanda in Marvel’s Black Panther is a pretty good example.

In The Wonderful, this Afrofuturism comes across in Geoff Aymer’s adaptation itself, in Katrina Russell-Adams’ design (with Emma Wee’s on set and costume design), and in the music and choreography by Jordan Xavier, Nick Bowers-Broadbent and Christopher Tendai. So essentially permeating the production entirely. The set is very simple, with bold colour blocks and space for projected animations. It’s a flexible backdrop to conjure up both Peckham and Ozanda. And as Efe makes her way through Ozanda, it’s a world where phones are obsolete, fashions are futuristic, and Efe is revered as an Obeah woman and a queen. There’s just enough world-building despite the simplicity to make it immersive and engaging for audiences.

Final Thoughts

I thought this was a great take on The Wizard of Oz. All the essential elements are there. Efe gathers Manny (a mannequin), Cyri (a cyborg) and the Mane Man himself, and heads to see The Wonderful in her silver kicks. There’s a lot of humour, and some great performances from the leads including Ashleigh-Mae Schoburgh-Crooks as Efe, Billy Lynch as Manny, Amy Bianchi as Cyri and Khariis Ubiaro as the Mane Man. And in supporting roles, we see young people from the Theatre Peckham Academy. Such a great opportunity for them to get on stage and flex their acting, singing and dancing muscles.

Finally, a quick note on TikTok, the Toto of this adaptation. I was intrigued when I realised a human named Sebastian Chambers was down to play the dog, but it all made sense very quickly. TikTok is probably the most realistic dog puppet I’ve seen (my partner initially thought it was a real dog and a handler), and Chambers does a great job with him – he’s constantly on stage but somehow stays in the background to let TikTok come to the forefront. Great use of puppetry.

So in summary, this isn’t a polished West End production (a few sound mixing issues for instance on the night I saw it), but it achieves what it sets out to do. This is a fun, family-friendly night out, which imparts important messages about inner strength, bravery and connection. Recommended for South East London locals and others with an interest in creative, Afrofuturist musical theatre!

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

The Wonderful on until 22 December 2021