It is a mark of the cult status of The Wizard of Oz that it still fills a huge space in our imagination six decades after first hitting the big screen.
This Four Witches' production plays up the sentimental elements of the perennial musical, digitally remastering it as modern fable to include scenes from Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible, as well as Aretha Franklin and Wham numbers.
It's all done with convulsive energy and even Toto makes the odd cameo appearance in various guises! Yet Siobhan Burke's rousing production is true to the original, playing on the deepest insecurities of children and the inadequacy of the adults around them.
Dorothy's mini-odyssey of self-discovery traditionally demands a strong lead performance and, on the evidence of this production, Evelyn O'Connor has a bright future ahead of her. She combines the doe-eyed innocence of Judy Garland with a brassy insolence and a powerful voice which always hits the right chord. Tomas Burke is wonderfully camp as the scarecrow, Aine Kelly is suitably craven as the Lion, while Brian Barry glistens as the Corkonian Tin Man.
David Harkin gets the most out of a large cast and Anne-Michel Durham conducts the orchestra with aplomb. What a pity, though, that the set was so sparse and lacking in colour and that much of the wicked witch's deliberations take place under a veil allowing set changes to take centre stage.