Wicked For Good at Westfield

At the end of last year we were invited by Universal to help bring the magical world of Wicked to life ahead of the release of the second film, Wicked: For Good. 

What followed was one of the most ambitious and immersive builds Plunge has ever undertaken. The large-scale, multi-sensory experience at Westfield Shopping Centre in London included a breathtaking 12-metre-tall handcrafted tree and a walk-through experience that proved so popular, it crashed the booking system!

Creating a structure of this scale inside a busy shopping centre came with major engineering challenges. Due to its enormous size and weight, the tree was fabricated in several different sections, and assembled in two parts. The upper half was suspended from the ceiling, while the lower section sat on the ground below. The two parts were carefully fabricated to give the illusion of one towering, organic structure growing through the space.

To accommodate the scale of the project, the Plunge team set up three temporary pop-up workshops, working across multiple locations, coordinating materials, tools, health and safety systems and production schedules to keep things moving.

The core structure of the tree was built from a large steel framework, forming both the trunk and sprawling branches. These were then wrapped in withies (flexible willow twigs) to create the tree’s organic form. From there, layers of treated fabric and papier-mache-style materials were applied by hand, all soaked in specialist fire-retardant solutions to meet Westfield’s strict safety regulations.

Once the structure was complete, the artistry began. The trunk was coated in textured materials to recreate realistic bark, before being painstakingly hand-painted and dressed with moss, tiny pink roses and layers of scenic detailing. Suspended throughout the branches were huge quantities of chenille wool, specially dyed in custom shades of pink and green to represent Glinda and Elphaba. Alongside this sat real dried amaranthus plants, also dyed to match the colour palette, creating a dreamlike, floating canopy inspired by the mangrove forests and enchanted landscapes of Oz.

The tree wasn’t just decorative, it was also designed to encourage interaction. On one side, guests could sit on a seat carved into the trunk beneath a neon sign for the perfect photo opportunity. On the other side, visitors were invited to write messages to people who had “changed them for good” on pink and green luggage tags. A donation point for Barnardo’s was also incorporated into the installation, helping to raise money for vulnerable children.

Next to the tree, the expansive walk-through experience allowed guests to choose between Glinda’s pink path or Elphaba’s green trail, while the iconic Yellow Brick Road guided visitors through a series of scenes inspired by the upcoming film.

Every set piece involved its own intensive fabrication process. The giant Wizard’s head at the entrance was sculpted and finished to resemble carved Burwood. The pink Unlimited One train was carved from polystyrene and then fibreglassed and painted using forced perspective techniques to create the illusion of movement. Giant decorative urns overflowing with cherry blossoms were hand-built and dressed for the wedding scene, while neon messages provided photo opportunities throughout the journey.

One of the standout creations of this project was Chistery, the leader of the winged monkey army. Sculpted entirely by hand, the character became a centrepiece of the experience thanks to meticulous artistry and hundreds of individually applied dyed feathers. The level of craftsmanship involved made it one of the most talked-about elements of the installation.

Throughout the experience, visitors could interact with meticulously recreated scenes from the movie, including Glinda’s Penthouse, Elphaba’s Lair and the gothic Kiamo Ko Castle. Scenic painting, faux stonework, prop-making, graphics, custom furniture and immersive styling all combined to blur the line between film set and public installation.

To heighten the atmosphere even further, the experience became fully multi-sensory with music from the film played throughout the space and custom scents, developed in partnership with Lush, diffused into the environment to transport visitors deeper into the world of Oz.

The installation itself was a major logistical operation, taking multiple days on site with large crews working around the clock to assemble structures, install graphics, rig scenic elements and fine-tune lighting and sound.

The result was an unforgettable festive destination that celebrated friendship, storytelling and spectacle on a truly enormous scale.