It’s a bit of a bonkers concept – light up drones creating gigantic moving images in the night sky to a narrated abridged telling of the plot of a classic movie.
But The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – The Drone Lightshow works, and makes for a unique and memorable evening’s family entertainment.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect, beyond the aforementioned light up drones in the skies over The Rose Bowl, Hampshire, on Saturday night (8/3/25).
What I found myself watching, whilst obviously employing extremely high-tech gadgets, was really just an updated version of people coming together to listen to a story, with some pictures to help us along the way.
And it was all the better for it. The children in the audience were absolutely rapt, as were the adults.
I wasn’t sure if you’d need to know the story beforehand, but whilst it was probably helpful to know the rough gist, it wasn’t necessary – the story, or rather an updated version giving it more of a moral, was easy to follow with the narration and it was fun figuring out what shapes the drones were going to make in the sky and wondering what elements we would see translated into points of light in the cool spring night.
The whole story is narrated by one voice – this, I felt, was an area for improvement. For me, it would have been more enjoyable if the different characters had been voiced by different performers. I would also have liked to hear songs from the movie – presumably there’s a licensing issue here. I wasn’t sure why the iconic ruby slippers were now rainbow-coloured – perhaps it was just a case of it looking better in lights.
It’s also worth noting, the seating isn’t covered. Whilst this wasn’t an issue on Saturday night – in fact it was pleasantly mild – it would definitely be worth preparing well for if it looked set to be chilly or damp. Anyone familiar with watching cricket there would already know this, but if you’re new to the venue, you could be caught out – not something to put you off going to a future show, just be prepared for what the British weather may throw at you.
The drones were used really effectively. They created 3-d shapes in the sky, from Dorothy and Toto walking up a spiralling yellow brick road to a giant Tin Man. The sheer scale of the shapes in the sky was almost breath-taking and it created a spectacle not soon to be forgotten.
It’s unusual to see something so dramatically different from the entertainment we are used to but for me this was unlike anything I’d seen before. I definitely recommend keeping an eye out for future shows and giving yourself a memorable evening out.
The current tour continues with shows in Nottingham, Cardiff and Durham. For more information about the show, created by Celestial in collaboration with Yuup, click here.
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