Reviews for Apollo Victoria Theatre

11-06-2008
Sydney Bevan

it was soo great to see wicked it was by far the best theatre production i have seen ever and i have been to many theatre productions. i loved the songs ans the atmoshere when the songs were sung. it was soo great because me and my mates were chuffed to get a tshirt and mug free lol for some reason.it was brilliant, worth every penny and the best theatre production ever!!!

03-11-2007
total vocal

As a group, Total Vocal had the privilige of front of house seats at the musical Wicked! Total Vocal is an organisation, passionately devoted to the art of singing. In essence, Wicked is a musical that endeavours to provide a background to the story of the Wizard of Oz. ???How this is going to work???? one might speculate upon as they head theatre-wards. The obvious comes to mind but surely, for a musical that has received such a massive following, there must be a few surprises in store you ask yourself!In actual fact, what this tour de force does is turns the concepts of the Wizard of Oz around, questions the original psychological inference that it was built upon and re-examines ones earlier perceptions of the black and the white Witches of Oz. More gently thought provoking than radical, the story encourages the audience to look deeper than the ???black and white??? exterior that initially presents itself and is a common denominator used for many scenes. The simple, yet skilful use of lighting and of colour throughout does more than enough to further coerce the mind into delving deeper and asking such questions as it bathes in a wash of green!As the lights went down, the cast took to the stage and it was immediately evident that we were in for an exceptional performance as Kerry Ellis who plays Elphaba, the green witch, received rapturous applause from the audience. Alongside Elphaba, we are presented with Glinda, the white witch who is cleverly the opposite in every way to her emerald tinted adversary. In contrast to Elphaba???s dark hair and plain appearance, Glinda is blonde, beautiful and radiant. Where Elphaba is either laughed at or petrifies at every corner, Glinda has a magnetism and charm that finds her never short of admirers and friends. ???But are they so different???? we are soon asking ourselves. Have we fallen into the trap and judged too soon? Well predictably so! The two find themselves at loggerheads as Elphaba???s magical prowess is soon noticed by the principal of the school and, much to Glinda???s displeasure, she is invited to be personally tutored by Madame Morrible, the principal of the school who is played so well by Susie Blake. The story continues with Elphaba and Glinda becoming unlikely allies. Throw in a common love interest - and hence a soupcon of rivalry, a sprinkle of politics and a handful of compassion and you have the foundations of the story.The Ozdust ball, with its wonderfully striking black and white costumes is, arguably, the finest visual treat of the whole show, but not only this, it is also a pivotal point in the story. Here, we arrive at the point where Glinda realises that Elphaba cares what people think of her far more than she allows people to see. In that short scene, Glinda dances Elphaba???s awkward and peculiar dance with her, painfully aware of the stares of incredulity from those who, to this point, have held her in such high esteem. At this point, and during the poignant scene that follows we, the audience, see the fusion between the pair that allows the story to move forth......................as the review is rather long, the rest can be read at http://totalvocal.co.uk/Forum/index.php?topic=67.0

15-07-2007
krissy lee

Amazing Show1st Showing = 17th February 20072nd Showing = 24th March 20073rd Showing = 14th July 2007After seeing the show the first time, i knew it would not be the end! So i had to go again! Only as i keep going back i get the same feeling again and want to come back. Having Kerry Ellis as the leading part of Elphaba is probably the best thing the show has ever done. Helen Dallimore who was Glinda made the show all that more enjoyable, however has left the show on th 14th July. She will be missed. The whole cast of wicked all look so happy and the songs are just great!I will be seeing the show again some time soon :]