By Laurice Laird
Year 6 pupils at Hill Mead Primary school will this evening be performing their adaptation of the fantasy adventure film, The Wizard of Oz.
The play, cunningly entitled the Sound of Oz, was re-written by Mr Overy to suit the needs of the school and also serves as an end of term celebration for the year 6 pupils as they prepare to progress onto secondary school.
Mr Overy, play organiser, said: “I was just really trying to think of a play. I looked around for one you could buy, but couldn’t find one I liked, so I wrote it myself. The story itself is based at Hill Mead. There’s a new headmistress who has banned music, and only grammar is allowed in the school. Some students are found dancing in the toilets, and they get banished to Oz.
“The theme is the wicked witch who got rejected on X-factor. They all get affected by the witch somehow. There’s a few twists along the end where they destroy the witch through music using our version of ‘Can’t touch this’. They’ve been rehearsing for about four weeks, and there’s quite a lot of technical stuff going on.”
The play is featured around the main character Dorothy do-right. She and her friends hold dance lessons in the toilet. In the end the school gets a wonderful new music teacher, and the Simon Cowell character featured in the play, awards the school with £1 million, after which the school erupts in celebration.
When speaking to some of the main characters (left) about the play, the tinman said: “I couldn’t sum it up in words. It’s a really good opportunity for kids to express themselves through acting. When you watch the play, you can see parts that are different from the actual film.”
Mr Jordan, musical director, said: “I’m merely just here to add the icing on the cake and vocal direction. It’s been very good, it’s been very exciting. Mr. Overy has tailored certain ideas, and brought certain elements together.
“Bearing in mind it’s year 6, they’ve done very well. With everything else that’s going on in the school, we do very well with the time that we have.”
The play is due to be performed today at 6pm, at Hill Mead Primary School, Moorland Road, Brixton, London SW9 8UE.
