It’s almost time to click your heels and follow the yellow brick road to a dazzling autumn production of The Wizard of Oz, proudly produced by the Cresset Arts and Theatre School.
Running from 6th-10th October, this year’s show features a cast of around 80 talented local young performers, who are ready to thrill audiences with their wonderful rendition of this much-loved tale.
Monique Benoiton‑Smith, Youth Theatre Director at The Cresset, explains why the show is so special.
Can you tell us more about this year’s production?
This will be our fourth year of youth musical productions at The Cresset. We started off with Nativity The Musical a few years ago, then went on to show School of Rock, before Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last year, which was a massive success. We’re excited to be putting on The Wizard of Oz this year. We call it a youth production because it’s primarily young performers. However, right from the start, we wanted to make sure this involves a wider range of performers: we also use experienced adult performers as well, for the young people to learn from and to really boost the overall quality for spectators.
Can you tell us more about the cast of young people and how they’re involved?
We’ve got 80 children in this production, split between two teams. So at any one time there’s a cast of 40 within each performance, acting alongside nine adults. Our cast are aged 9+ and what makes our production a little bit different is that we open up auditions to absolutely everybody. It’s not just for those young people who already attend our regular classes.
We’ve always tried to do something a little bit different and the youth musical builds performance experience. You can really see the progression and the development in the children’s performance ability. This opportunity is a great stepping stone towards auditioning for professional productions in the future.
What do the young performers get out of being part of the production?
They gain a huge amount of rehearsal time over a 12-week period with lots of input from the professional production team. They also all learn from each other. The show contains singing, dancing and acting, so it really covers all the bases from a performance point of view. But the biggest thing for me, and this always hits home when it comes to the end of performance week, is the friendships that are created. They build amazing, lifelong bonds. And I know this because, when I was younger, my best friend and I met in that environment too. It’s brilliant to share long-lasting memories together.
What’s special about The Wizard of Oz?
I think it feels very similar to the production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last year, in that it’s a story that all generations can relate to. It conjures up those childhood memories and appeals to people of all ages. It’s such a universal story, isn’t it? And with the performers as well as the audiences, it’s just so popular. When we did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the audiences were fantastic and the feedback was great.
How do you feel being involved with a production like this?
We are really lucky because we’ve got some amazingly talented young people in Peterborough. I just love seeing the performers develop: with their confidence, how they create, how they offer input, and how they put their own spin on things. Rehearsals are quite playful. It’s exhausting but such a lot of fun – especially once the first couple of rehearsals are over, when it can be quite intense. But children are like sponges; it just amazes me how much they can learn and retain. We record all of our rehearsals for them to refer back to at home. And it’s phenomenal how they develop from one week to the next. I think that’s a testament to their commitment and how much they enjoy taking part.
For example, we’re currently working on the Munchkinland scene. And I asked, “How do you think Munchkins move around?” One girl starts prancing across the rehearsal room, and she was absolutely right. Munchkins don’t walk; they skip everywhere! It’s really fun to see all of that understanding and personal development unfold.
How does everyone involved with the production feel when the show is performed in front of an audience?
Well, we have tears at the end of every show week because, while it is a lot of hard work and it’s a huge commitment, the young people love it. And they know they’re going to miss their friends once the show is over. They might not see some of those people again until the next production, so there’s certainly disappointment when it’s over. But they’re just buzzing because show week is an amazing atmosphere.
Why should people come and see the show?
Particularly for families, children like to watch other young people performing because they can aspire to it. If it’s something they’re interested in, they may think, “I could do that too!” And because we’ve got people with different levels of experience performing, it shows that acting on a stage is not unreachable for anybody. It’s inspirational. Even if they’re not interested in performing themselves, audiences still love seeing their favourite childhood stories live on stage because it’s such an immersive experience.
The Wizard of Oz
6th-10th October 2026
Tickets from £21
