A Wicked performance
Witches, wizards and yellow brick roads have all featured in recent English lessons at Warminster Prep. From Years 4 to 6 all the children have been looking at different texts on a magical theme. This work culminated with a trip to see the fabulous musical Wicked on Wednesday 25th February at the Bristol Hippodrome.
When Dorothy famously triumphed over the Wicked Witch, we only ever heard one side of the story. Wicked, however, shows us the other side and is a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two girls who first meet as sorcery students at Shiz University: the blonde and very popular Glinda and a misunderstood green girl named Elphaba.
Following an encounter with The Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda's unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power while Elphaba's determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences for her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as “Glinda the Good” and the “Wicked Witch of the West”.
The children were mesmerised by the show and now have a very different perspective of the Wicked Witch. Discussion about right and wrong, good and evil were rife as the children journeyed home with the wonderful songs still buzzing in their brains.
Mrs Stephanie Sheppard
Head of Prep English
Meanwhile, the Senior School Music Department also ran a trip to see the show:
What uses enough power to supply 12 homes, 175 000 pounds of scenery, five miles of cable and 125 pounds of dry ice? The answer is a single performance of Wicked, a show that has been seen in hundreds of cities and 13 countries around the world and delighted audiences for over twelve years. On Friday night, 25 pupils from Years 9 to 13 were not only wowed by this sonic and visual spectacular but were fortunate enough to have a question and answer session with the show's director, Pip Minnithorpe, who talked about the complexities of staging Wicked in theatres throughout the UK.
Derek Harris
Director of Music