Alice in Wonderland

It was pleasing to see that the membership of the Phoenix Youth Theatre has increased over the last 12 months to the point that they were able to provide two teams to stage this Lewis Carroll classic, adapted by director Kate Ross. Those in the group age from 4 to 14 years and therefore this adaptation consisting of two approx. 30-minute acts was most suitable.

Providing a strong thread throughout the story is of course Alice played in the team I watched, by Sophia Shakespeare, who with her sister Mathilda (Seren Williams - who later played the Duchess) both spoke up well. When Alice falls asleep we meet four enchanting butterflies whilst she slumbers. In her dreams Alice meets a wide selection of characters, including the Cheshire Cat played by Sophia Lawrence who magically reduces Alice in size so that she can enter the rabbit hole. Both Sophia and Emelia Mayo, who played Caterpillar, were full of character. Alice meets the White Rabbit (Maggie Britton), Dodo (Connie Parry) and Lory (Mirabelle Gouello), the sleepy Dormouse (Lily Rylatt) and the March Hare (Eleri Bateman) who all gave good support.

Paisley Comri-Bowcott, made a great impression as the somewhat forceful Mad Hatter, full of personality and this was matched by Isla Harrison as the bossy Queen of Hearts. All is observed well by Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Sofia Barter and Keira Beard) and Knave played by Amelie Jones. As Act 1 concludes, the Queen announces that someone has stolen her tarts and of course the culprit will lose their head – meanwhile Alice can’t wait to get home. (Co-incidentally tarts were available for the audience during the interval which was very welcome!)

In Act 2, the Queen tries to find out who has stolen the tarts and whilst the Queen’s soldiers paint the roses red, interviews are conducted and inspections are made to identify any jam that may have been splattered on the culprit! This provided some amusing moments in addition to the mystery of a black box (a 3G mobile phone) and the butterflies eventually escort Alice home.

I recognised the clever reuse of a previous set, which had been beautifully repainted for Alice’s home and the rabbit hole. This was an enchanting production, very well dressed, which can only have added to the confidence of the youngsters as they make their way forward in the magical world of theatre.

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