Somewhere Over The Westway

Gilded Balloon Teviot    30 July - 24 August @ 16.15    The Portobello Panto

This show takes a sideways swipe at the Pantomime tradition, subverting The Wizard of Oz.  Covers of pop songs abound and, because the lyrics are all but inaudible over ‘The Hungry Munchkins’ band, it is difficult to be certain how much has been changed.

The ‘black and white’ world of ‘Dee’ is the Portobello Road Market; Dee is a pregnant, teenage, ‘wannabe’ chav who is transported to the Westway after a car accident.  Along with her trusted ‘Pototo’ (a toy Mr Potato-head) she meets equivalents of all the Oz characters and they set out to find ‘Bob Gandalf’ who runs Wizz-Aid.

Along the way, the Witch (the transformed Health and Safety officer from the market) tries to foil their journey in an often funny send-up of Kate Bush.  The funniest character was the one who kept appearing from another panto – he’s Jack the Giant Killer, Robin Hood and a tipsy Cinderella – good device for moving between scenes.

This is a show that is probably great fun if you know someone in it – they certainly enjoy their performances – and may be an inspiration to amateur companies tired of the ‘same old script’ for their annual local pantomime.