Alice in Wonderland

By a quirk of fate I don’t think I’ve ever seen a panto version of Alice before and what a refreshing change this turned out to be. A Home written story adaptation of the Lewis Carroll original by Jim Fowler, crammed full of all the traditional characters, whilst incorporating all the elements of a pantomime, with so many ideas crammed in I’d need to see it at least twice to remember it all!  Very cleverly directed by Caroline Page, with a superb eye for detail; we were in for a very entertaining evening.

Projected on to the side wall directly in front of you as you entered the auditorium your eyes were drawn to the words ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ below which on the front apron, stage right had been built a pixie style scene with such items as:  mushrooms, a teapot and an outsized cup and saucer,  and little seat into which Alice would sit to start her journey through Wonderland. What you didn’t realise until it was cleverly lit up in neon was that it was also the Chesire Cat, voiced over by the set designer Mike Ward! And tacked to the front of the stage were giant sized playing cards! Very clever! The main stage itself was depicted by a series of cloths from the Queen of Hearts palace to a dungeon, to the rose garden to various scenes of wonderland.  All decorated with various props and symbols such as clocks, all depicted at ten to two, a tea pot, rose bushes, a tunnel leading down a rabbit hole and lots of giant playing cards. Very well designed and built by Mike Ward, Caroline Page, Dave Miles, Colin Delamore, Tom Davies, Emma Davies and Phil Pope. Add in the property construction by Emma Davies, Tom Davies, Dave Miles, Sally White and Colin Delamore and then beautifully decorated by Property Artists, Sue Calvert, Emma Davies, Tegan Bennett and Hannah Jackson, and you really were in Wonderland. Absolutely superb group effort of a set.

Costumes and makeup just rounded off this feast for the eyes. The wardrobe department of Maralyn Hopley, Sheena Ward, Sally White and Louise Evans had been particularly productive with some outstanding (and some outlandish) costumes., The usual OTT costumes for the dame of course and some superbly crafted ones, for example, The Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter. And some very funny ones, such as the beards and glasses with huge eyeballs for the Guards otherwise dressed in black leotards.  Great makeup was essential to this show and Saskia McShane, Emma Brown and Lauren Waters made sure that happened. The Queen of Hearts “heart-shaped” facial makeup in particular was absolutely superb.   And not forgetting some great wigs by Mary Blease, providing some extra comedy when knocked off during the action. Not Mary’s fault I hasten to add.

Lighting and sound by Dave Miles and Tom Davies were their usual professional standard and were crystal clear throughout. All of the above was under the stage management of Phil Pope.

Our band of Paul Daggett (MD and Keyboards) Pete Bellamy (Bass Guitar), Luke Elwood (Guitar) and Joe Kaye on Drums were absolutely on song and thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Choreography by Donna Jackson was pitched fairly simply, but extremely well drilled and perfectly suited to the action.

But what made this show a cut above were the brilliant characterisations by the cast who had obviously put a lot of effort into recreating Carrol’s masterpieces. Alision Bayliss-Hardy as Alice (or Agnes as Dame Nursie always amusing called her) put the innocence and wonderment of the character across perfectly as Alice became progressively wiser and more in tune with her surroundings. Well pitched!

Jo Taylor as The Queen of Hearts just nailed the part with her stance alone, neck slightly forward, elbows in and arms slightly splayed and all her movements just echoed the part straight out of the pages of Carroll’s story.  I actually didn’t recognise Jo for the first couple of minutes so good was the make up and characterisation. Great chemistry too with Tony White as her Chamberlain trying desperately to retain his head.

Ben Dards as Dame Nursie was a fun, larger than life in more ways than one, Dame, and did a great job. As did Russell Bennett and Lois Wright as our two clowns Tweedledee and Tweedledum who worked their socks off with the audience. And one highly amusing unscripted moment where they had to admit to having left a vital packet of crisps on the props table, so adapt accordingly. Such impromptu moments are priceless to a panto with actors of this ability and confidence able to pull them off.

A special mention must be made of the lovely cuddle performance by Jan Murray as the white Rabbit. Those lost little white paws will live long in the memory. Loved her walk!

About 45 minutes into the show the curtain closed and slightly surprised I whispered to my host, “Half time already?” “Oh no!” she said, “You are now in for a bit of a treat!” That turned out to be the understatement of the night to say the least, as the orange wigged head of Charles Merritt as The Mad Hatter poked out from the middle of the curtain and proceeded to steal the show with what was an electrifying performance of energy, wit and camp comedy. Absolutely top draw acting and comedic delivery.  I certainly look forward to seeing what more he has to offer. LBDG would be well advised to hang on to him for as long as possible!

Great supporting cameos by for example, a perfectly cast Mark Croft as Caterpillar, a man who knows how to play a part so dour and straight it becomes comedic, Annie Shackledon as the Knave of Hearts, Sian Tracy as The March Hare, Jan Delamore as the Dutchess and Colin Delamore as the Hunter chasing a rabbit stew!

Special mention also for Lorna Daggett who was wedged inside the ‘Magic Box,’ squirting custard and sauce at our dame and whose services as prompt were thankfully redundant!

And finally a great chorus of Donna Jackson, Lucy Dudley and Tracy Williams playing Guards and Ushers.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining show full of great ideas and original thought. Not many pantomimes have I left thinking, I could happily sit through that again, but this was definitely one of them. Well done to Caroline Page and her talented team. How you manage three shows every Saturday three weeks in a row is well beyond my stamina level! Keep up the good work! I’m very much looking forward to Jim Fowler’s Treasure Island next year! No pressure!

Once again many thanks to our top quality host, Barbara Springthorpe, who always makes us so welcome at the Library Theatre.

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