Follow the Yellow Brick Road to….The Palace Theatre This Summer

June 11, 2025

There’ll be a tornado of local Leigh-on-sea talent whirling across the stage at the Palace Theatre this summer as the Summer Youth Project production of The Wizard Of Oz flies into Southend.

Now in its 16th year, the Southend Theatres’ Summer Youth Project offers youngsters aged between nine and 19 the opportunity to perform and produce a full scale show with professional theatre staff. Auditions were held in April and a cast of 90 young performers was selected to take part in the production of Frank Baum’s classic tale The Wizard of Oz. Draw from across Southend and further afield, the young cast will create, rehearse for two weeks in the summer holidays and perform six performances of the show to live audiences.

As well as the cast of performers, a team of 11 youth technicians will join the professional crew on the show, learning backstage skills and helping to get the show up and running.

Southend Theatres’ Creative Learning Manager, Emma Wagstaff said ‘The Summer Youth Project is always a highlight of the year and 2025 will be no exception. The standard of the auditionees was very high and we are excited to see the end result of their hard work over the summer. The youth technicians too all impressed with their enthusiasm and commitment to the project. Roll on August!’

The Wizard of Oz has been a favourite with readers, cinema goers and theatre lovers for more than 100 years. It tells the tale of Dorothy, transported by a tornado from her home in Kansas to the magical Land of Oz. Her adventures, as she tries to get back home, lead her to meet the Scarecrow with no brain, the Tin Man with no heart and the Cowardly Lion who longs to be courageous. They must journey to the Emerald City to meet the terrible Wizard of Oz who may help Dorothy return home. Wicked witches, flying monkeys, munchkins and all manner of challenges face them on their journey. Will they reach their destinations and find courage, love, brains and a way home?

Tickets for The Wizard of Oz are on sale now. Join the young people at the Palace Theatre this summer and celebrate their talent and enjoy a great show.