Alice in Wonderland

“Alice in Wonderland” by Tracy Rogers, based on the books by Lewis Carrol was a witty and clever take on the classic tale.  It opened with a prologue (not the usual musical opening) and the audience were treated to the spectacle of Alice and Nora falling down the rabbit hole.  This was cleverly achieved with the use of projection before the audience were delighted to see miniature versions of the pair appear in the guise of  juniors,  Esmae West and Jasmine Bell.  And from then on, we were thrown into Wonderland and a host of fantastical characters.

The various sets were fabulous; the doors vibrantly painted, as were the flowers inthe garden scene.  The palace kitchen was realistically drawn and painted and was very effective.  The props were many and excellent including: notebooks for the cards, beachballs, the tea set, the silver platter, inflatable flamingos for croquet mallets and, of course, the inevitable custard pies!

 The costumes were great.   The dame had a series of bright, colourful and very over-the-top dresses.  There was the suitably dressed Joker, his assistant in black and white stripes (slightly reminiscent of a prisoner’s suit), and the Queen of Hearts was a vision in red. Tweedledee and Tweedledum looked gorgeous in their red net tutus and baseball caps!  There was great attention to detail in all the costumes.  The Mad Hatter, March Hare, White Rabbit and Dormouse all looked very much the part and their make-up was especially effective. The caterpillar’s costume deserves a special mention.

The lighting throughout was well-controlled, imaginative and effective and complemented the music at the appropriate times.

With panto and Silchester Players’ stalwarts Sarah Oliver, Alan Moorhouse and Jill and Brian Gillett in the cast, we knew the evening was in safe hands.    This production was funny, witty and entertaining.  There was great variety of characters:  Dame Nora Knowitall was appropriately larger-than-life and Julia West as Alice was sweet and charming.  Sarah Oliver as Tweedledee and Charley Henkey as Tweedledum were well matched and had some great banter with one another and the audience.  Claire Humprheys, as the Queen of Hearts, was suitably wicked while Alan Moorhouse as The Mad Hatter and Alan Birdsworth as The March Hare provided some surreal and often humorous moments.  Tristan Quittenton was adorable as the Dormouse and had great body language.   Brian Gillett, as the Joker, was perfect in this role and was ably assisted by Joe Williams as his sidekick Mr Rules. It was heart-warming to see the woodland animals dancing.  The entire cast had great comic timing and kept the action going throughout the evening. With topical and local humour delivered with a light touch, this was a memorable evening and fun for all. Congratulations to Sarah Oliver and her production team for their able support in bringing great entertainment to Silchester in another captivating show.

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