In 'Wicked', Gregory Maguire delves into the life of Elphaba, the green-skinned girl who becomes the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. The story begins with Elphaba's childhood, marked by her unique appearance and her father's missionary work in Quadling country. As she grows older, Elphaba attends Shiz University, where she meets Galinda, who will later become Glinda. The novel follows Elphaba's journey through her involvement in resistance against the Wizard, her personal struggles, and her eventual transformation into the Wicked Witch. Maguire's narrative explores themes of social class, political oppression, and the nature of evil, creating a rich and vivid world that challenges the traditional view of Oz[1][3][4].
Thomasin McKenzie is this week’s guest—star of Edgar Wright’s ‘Last Night in Soho’, Mark’s film of the year 2018 ‘Leave No Trace’—and now ‘Joy’, a new Netflix drama about the development of IVF treatment at Oldham hospital in the 1970s. Written by Jack Thorne, the film’s medical miracle story is focalised through McKenzie’s character Jean Purdy—a talented embryologist whose work was key to the team’s breakthrough discovery, but whose name was left out of the history books. She chats to Simon about putting Jean back in the picture in this latest in a line of meaty and challenging roles for the young actor.
Reviews this week of ‘Blink’, a poignant documentary following a family determined to travel the world and create precious visual memories for their three children, who are losing their sight—and Amrou Al-Kadhi's debut drag queen drama ‘Layla’, which follows the story of the titular performer (Bilal Hasna) as they discover their confidence and creativity whilst navigating their queer Arab identity. Plus the much-anticipated stage-to-screen musical ‘Wicked’. The Wizard of Oz prequel stars Cynthia Erivo as green-skinned misfit Elphaba, and Ariana Grande as glam girl Galinda, both still witches-to-be as they forge an unlikely and rocky friendship at university. We find out if Mark thinks it’s going to be ‘Pop-u-lar'...
Plus top quality correspondence from you and typical witterings from the Good Doctors as per.
Our Christmas Spectacular with Mark and Simon live onstage at London’s Prince Edward theatre is now sold out! Event info here: https://www.fane.co.uk/kermode-and-mayo
Timecodes (for our ad-free Vanguardistas):
Blink Review: 09:30
Thomasin McKenzie Interview: 30:18
Layla Review: ~47:49
Wicked Review: ~57:00
You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo
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Kermode & Mayo’s Take 
