The Judy Garland film musical is seen as the definitive version of L Frank Baum’s famous book.

So no wonder that, when presenting a play adaptation, Cullingworth’s amateur theatre group incorporated the film’s well-known songs.

Numbers like Follow the Yellow Brick Road, Over the Rainbow and Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead, nicely sung by the children and adults, were high points of this production.

I enjoyed the first half last Saturday, mostly thanks to Claire Pipe, Louisa Mawson and Frank Selby’s lively performances as the Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and Tin Woodman, and Georgia Pickles’ confident and earnest portrayal of Dorothy.

But oh my goodness the second half was a chore, and we can place the blame fairly and squarely on a script that ground to a halt within minutes of the curtain re-opening.

The final act opened with Dorothy a prisoner of the wicked witch, her comrades apparently attacked offstage during the interval, and five minutes later Dorothy had killed the witch.

Amber Craddock played the witch with relish, but despite the cast’s efforts, there was little else of interest in this thankfully-short final act.

David Knights