A Glasgow pantomime billed as a ‘Cirque staging’ of The Wicked Wizard of Oz has sparked a wave of criticism, with some theatregoers even requesting refunds
A pantomime has been dubbed the “Willy Wonka Experience 2.0” after families reportedly stormed out mid-show.
‘The Wicked Wizard of Oz: Cirque Spectacular’ has drawn a flurry of complaints following a performance at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on Saturday, with some theatregoers requesting refunds and others saying they have seen “better school shows”.
Attendees have since joined a Facebook page titled ‘The Woeful Wicked Wizard of Oz – A Not-So Cirque Spectacular’, which now has more than 1,500 members.
The production company, World’s Biggest Productions, had promised a “brand-new, breath-taking, Cirque staging” of Frank L. Baum’s iconic story, branding it as “Panto meets Cirque”. However, parents who attended the Saturday or Sunday shows told Glasgow Live it was “inappropriate, overpriced and falsely advertised”.
Carol-Ann Henderson, a mum-of-two who attended Saturday’s show, described it as a “shambles”, saying: “It has been completely mis-sold and advertised as a cirque spectacular. If I said it was an amateur production that would be a lie, I’ve seen better school shows.”
One dad, who said he paid £297 for his family of five to attend, said: “This blows the Willy Wonka Experience right out of the water. Embarrassing performance from a high-profile production company.”
Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow went viral in 2024. The unlicensed event, based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was widely mocked for using AI-generated images in its promotion. Police were called when parents and children were disappointed by the reality.
A third attendee of the recent Wizard of Oz panto said she had “never seen the Hydro empty so fast”. She said it had “no real storyline” and claimed the sound quality was “awful”, criticising the props and production, including a witch on a bike strapped to a golf cart and munchkins on stilts.
The Facebook page – created by someone who attended a show at the Brighton Centre on December 16 – features angry posts from hundreds of spectators across the UK.
Fiona Hanton wrote on Sunday afternoon: “Left after the first half, absolutely disgusting,” while Dawn Page said on Saturday: “Just walked out of the terrible performance in Glasgow. The show is currently still on but absolutely shocking.”
A spokesperson for The World’s Biggest Productions recently defended the show, telling Manchester Evening News after a similar report: “Wicked Wizard Of Oz opened in Blackpool to a fantastic response in October.
“The promotional videos advertising the show featured the acts that appeared in the performance in Manchester, either taken during our workshop rehearsals or at live performances in Blackpool.
“The show title ‘Wicked Wizard of Oz’ has a smaller typeface descriptor “cirque spectacular” and ‘panto meets cirque’ which reasonably identified that circus elements would be included in a panto style show. Six of our talented circus cast won silver medals at this year’s European circus festivals.
“It was never suggested this was a Cirque de Soleil production and their forthcoming UK tour has tickets from £66 – £372 and when compared to our prices of £29 – £70 it would be unrealistic to expect similar production values as Soleil.
“Our show, like all pantomimes, contains some jokes in the pantomime tradition of being silly. Over 150,000 people attend our shows annually and if maybe 0.1% do not appreciate one joke in the show, it feels rather unbalanced reporting against the mass who enjoy a form of humour that has survived two hundred years.”
The Mirror has contacted World’s Biggest Productions for comment.
