I’ve lived in Bristol for nearly 6 years now, and I’ll confess something… up until last week, I had never been to Bristol Hippodrome! This legendary Bristol insitution is prominently positioned slap bang in the middle of the city centre, opposite the fountains on St Augustine’s Parade.
Tom is sadly not a massive fan of musical theatre, or theatre in general, which is probably the reason that neither of us have been since the duration of our living in the city, although visiting has always been high on my to-do list. I just didn’t fancy going by myself!
Just as I was planning a trip for my birthday, I was lucky enough to receive an email asking if I would like to go and see the UK tour of the smash hit West End musical, Wicked. Of course I jumped at the chance, and after some much needed sister time, I took along my little sister and BFF, Nelly. This leg of the tour is only on in Bristol for four weeks, and ends on the 21st March, so if you want to see it then you better hurry!
Bit of a history lesson – the Bristol Hippodrome opened in December 1912, and is one of the largest stages outside of London (according to Wikipedia), hence why it regularly hosts such top productions of West End shows. It’s pretty amazing to think that because of the size of it, Bristol is regularly host to larger productions and top comedians – who says we need an arena?! Its spot on St Augustine’s parade next to Boots is easily walked past on the way to Park St or Cabot Circus, but there’s certainly no mistaking its grand facade. It’s just as fancy inside, too.
The Hippodrome looked absolutely amazing, decked out in green glory, complete with a green carpet for the event. Even though I had tickets for a Thursday (and despite the weather!) it was absolutely packed – apparently the best times to catch this tour are midweek, Monday to Wednesday, and there are matinee showings as well. This is the UK & Ireland tour following a massively successful showing on both Broadway and on the West End, and having never seen the musical before I had no idea what to expect.
It follows the untold story of the witches of Oz, and as a bit of a fan of the Wizard of Oz anyway (I played the lion in my drama group production when I was 9, wow, such fame) I was looking forward to seeing how their characters were portrayed. I was definitely not disappointed! The story blends seamlessly into the original plot of the film, and even threw in a few cheeky references for good measure. It’s a pretty powerful tale in its own right, however, detailing how Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West, obvs) and Glinda the Good Witch first met as students, and following their friendship through highs and inevitable lows.
I was pleasantly surprised how I knew some of the songs already. I’m not entirely sure how, possibly through some kind of pop-cultural osmosis of sorts, but I found myself bopping along when the cast burst into ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘Popular’. The production value of the whole thing was quite simply breathtaking – they never let the energy up for one moment, and the costumes, sets, props, giant dragons, pointiest hats… everything made the whole thing one of the most magical things I have ever seen.
It’s suitable for an audience of 7+, and if you haven’t seen it before, then I thoroughly recommend taking the kids along and watching. The Hippodrome is the perfect backdrop too, and it excited the history nerd in me to think of of all those theatrical productions over the last hundred years. I’m glad to have ticked that one off my Bristol bucket list!
[A huge thanks to Wicked UK for inviting me along – I was invited to review this production but all words and opinions are my own]