Alice In Wonderland

There is nothing I enjoy more than a trip to the pantomime so I was very much looking forward to making a return visit to Donnington and The Little Theatre’s latest production of ‘Alice In Wonderland’. It’s 161 years since Lewis Carroll’s famous story was first published and as one of the most celebrated novels of Victorian literature, it has clearly maintained its popularity over the years in many different ways.

How wonderful then that Donnington has added to the ongoing reputation of this classic story with one the most fabulous pantomimes I’ve seen in recent years and staged in their very own community theatre. Little by name but certainly not by nature, the auditorium seats 250 in great comfort and both of today’s performances were playing to full houses!

The pantomime began as The White Rabbit, already “late for a very important date”, rushed into the auditorium looking for Alice. Having quickly found her, he warmly welcomed everyone to the pantomime before sliding down into his off-stage burrow as the curtains opened for ‘The Wonderland Tea Party’ and a fabulous upbeat opening chorus of ‘Boogie Wonderland’ led by The Mad Hatter and featuring the brilliantly choreographed dancers and an ensemble, all colourfully dressed as flowers.

Enthusiastically cheered and applauded, it was now time for a well-earned spot of tea as all our friends settled down at the long table for a bite to eat as they were  introduced to us by Alice played by Aggie Johnstone – So a big ‘hello’ to The Knave of Hearts (Beth Williams), The White Rabbit (Jessie Bracken) and The Mad Hatter (Debra Nimmo).

Soon after, we were enjoying the brilliant wit, comic tales and hilarious ad-libbing of Simon Whitehouse as Dame Duchess, outrageously dressed in the first of an all-embracing wardrobe of magnificent costumes we would be admiring for the rest of the afternoon.

Apart from being the Wonderland school teacher and local painter and decorator, our dame extraordinaire was also keen to tell us all about her culinary skills and particularly the time she appeared on the Australian version of ‘MasterChef’ where they all cheered as she presented her ‘meringues’, not realizing that down under they’re known as ‘boo-meringues!’ We were also encouraged to shout “Coo-eee” back to her every time she walked on the stage.

Dame Duchess then led the way for a toe-tapping rendition of ‘Recipe No 5’, superbly sung and staged with the dancers all stylishly dressed in black with white aprons.

It was now time to meet the Cheshire Cat (Adam Hartley), very much ‘in the pink’ from head to toe, his whimsical nature shining through and keen to deliver a riddle. On this occasion it was to warn of the imminent arrival of The Queen of Hearts preceded by her two henchmen Tweedledee and Tweedledum, skillfully played by Simon Roberts and Amy Field.

Every pantomime has to have a good ‘baddie’ and Alice Allen was perfectly cast in this role as she swept onto the stage in hot pursuit of the Knave of Hearts who she claimed had stolen her tarts. “I’m in charge here” she roared to which the audience quickly shouted back “Oh no you’re not”. Clearly irritated, the Queen’s response was “Off with their heads” and having failed to find a way to arrest the Knave, she stormed off the stage followed by her two stooges.

Very smoothly, a beautiful woodland backcloth was lowered in for the next scene – ‘The Middle of Nowhere’ – and after the White Rabbit had narrated the next part of the story, the Mad Hatter arrived with a trolley, keen to tell us all about the flower pictures he was on his way to deliver as a present for Alice and the story he had written about them. So, as each flower was mentioned, individual members of the ensemble walked across the stage, each carrying a beautifully designed poster showing the relevant bloom and the name of it from his story - a very clever idea which the audience absolutely loved.

The scene ended with a beautifully sung version of ‘You’ by Alice and the Knave.

Following a good old traditional panto slapstick scene in which Dame Duchess and the Mad Hatter attempted to decorate Alice’s living room and ended up with more paint on themselves than the walls, the next scene opened with a powerful rendition of ‘I Want It Now’ by the Queen of Hearts. Clearly still upset by her failure to arrest the Knave, she instructed her two henchmen to pose as school inspectors to infiltrate the next scene.

There followed one of my favorite pantomime sketches featuring seven of the principal characters, each singing a verse of who they’d like to be if they weren’t in Wonderland with appropriate actions and then moving down the line to join in after the next one had appeared. It started with Tweedledum as a Fireman and by the time we got to The Knave of Hearts as a Ballet Dancer, there was a straight line of all seven getting in each other’s way with their individual actions and leaving the audience in absolute fits of laughter!

The next scene’s visit to Wonderland School began with the most amazing performance of ‘Naughty’,’ superbly sung by a very smartly uniformed ensemble led by three principal singers, Charlotte Jordan, Jessica Ramsey and Tallulah Sutton. Now regaled in her outrageous headmistress costume, Dame Duchess endeavored to control the schoolroom fun and frolics which provided a good helping of audience participation before the two bogus school inspectors disclosed their true identity and kidnapped the Knave of Hearts. Desperate to find and free her, the first half ended as our friends set off to seek advice from the White Queen with a rousing chorus of ‘Get Back Up Again’ ably led by Alice.

Interval over and now in the Kingdom of the White Queen, the curtains opened on a beautifully staged version of ‘Welcome to Wonderland’ featuring the principal dancers all immaculately dressed in white flowing dresses, sparkling crinolines and with white masks.

As the White Queen, majestically played by Nina Aver, arrived, she was straightaway told of the Knave’s plight and asked for her magic crystal ball to be brought to her. Now safely clasped in her hands and during the most incredible mystically staged performance of ‘A New Start’, a brilliant new song written by the pantomime’s Musical Director, C J Allen, and involving the whole company, she was able to identify the ingredients needed to make a special potion - elmwood, sunflower and a rose pink feather - to give to the Queen of Hearts to take away her nastiness and make her a kinder and serene person.

In search of the elmwood, our friends trotted off to find some in ‘The Forgotten Forest’. Having been warned that there were wild bears about, they asked the audience to shout out if they saw one and then happily launched into a chorus of ‘The Teddy Bear’s Picnic’. It wasn’t long before the auditorium was in an uproar with lots of shouts of “It’s behind you” as a large brown bear appeared and, in the traditional panto routine, scared our friends off, one by one, eventually leaving just the Dame alone on the stage. She stood firm, took one angry look at the bear and scared him off!

There was some hilarious shenanigans and great production numbers in the scenes that followed especially in the ‘Queen’s Unbirthday Party’ which opened with an explosive rendition of ‘It’s My Party’ by the Queen herself supported by some very slick choreography by the dancers, very neatly dressed in black leotards with a pink sash. Sadly, the Knave of Hearts was now behind bars but still in good spirits with his love for Alice which he expressed in a touching vocal of ‘One Knight’ to round the scene off.

Next up were Tweedledum and Tweedledee, reading the Wonderland News in advance of the Courtroom battle, presided over by the Caterpillar Judge played by Jasper Owen who shared the role with Stanley Wise in alternate performances.

As the proceedings got underway, the Knave of Hearts was still protesting his innocence for stealing the Queen’s tarts. The final witness was Dame Duchess who battled it out with The Queen in a comical musical ‘rap’ which concluded with the jury’s verdict that the Knave was ‘Not Guilty’ and a breathtaking reprise of ‘Boogie Wonderland’ by the whole company.

And what pantomime would be complete without an audience sing-along with ’12 Days of Wonderland’ to round the production off followed by ‘Stomp’ for the curtain calls.

We had enjoyed a truly wonderful afternoon of traditional family entertainment in which  every member of the company, without exception, performed in the most professional manner with great flair, energy and enthusiasm. What's more, they were all clearly enjoying every minute of being on stage. The sets, the costumes, the lighting and sound were also of an exceptionally high theatrical standard.

My final comments must go to Co-Directors Kimberley Roberts and Nina Aver for their skill and vision in turning Barry Crossley’s script into such a fabulous production - (Nina actually stepped in at the last minute to play The White Queen due to illness) - to Jessie Bracken for the dynamic choreography, to Musical Director C J Allen and his band for the very high standard of musical accompaniment, to Nina again together with Kimberley Roberts for the breathtaking quality of the costumes and finally to Production Assistant and Stage Manager Vicki Anderson-Stevens for the smooth running of the stage and scene changes which were faultless.

Thank you once again for your warm welcome to The Little Theatre Donnington. I’m already looking forward to visiting you for ‘Don’t Dress For Dinner’ in April.

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