“One of the best-loved stories ever told” was the undisputable claim on the publicity for this latest production of The Wizard Of Oz and no doubt that was exactly why the auditorium was packed out on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon.

And it’s lucky it is so well-known as it quickly became unrecognisable in the hands of New World Productions.

The story had a pantomime make-over so without a single bar of Over The Rainbow and no mention of the Yellow Brick Road, the performers were left to brazen their way through a nonsensical performance.

The result was an uncomfortable mishmash of popular music, current TV and celebrity culture, 1980s comedy routines and impersonations.

Wrapped up in a package that featured little set, a reluctant Toto, backdrops that had to be moved visibly across the stage and continued to be twitched throughout the scenes, indistinct sound and random lighting effects, the overall feel was that of cheap production values.

That said, it wasn’t lazy theatre. The show was high-energy and some of the cast undoubtedly talented, but with bonkers scenes shoehorned in as a vehicle for Bobby Davro’s talents, The Wizard Of Oz now features a fighting bacon and egg, Ozzy Osbourne and a giant kangaroo.

But did Davro have the last laugh when he got the audience to shout out, “What a load of rubbish”, or was it a public moment of personal existential crisis?