Alice in Wonderland

It’s always good to go to see a junior show where the cast and crew are so enthusiastic about their productions.  This is the second time I have had the opportunity to come along to see one of their shows and I’m so glad I did. Yes Tiptree does have a lot of talent!

KYDS really try hard to create a theatre in the rather large school hall with excellent cast photos as you come in and a professional printed colour programme. A bit of a shame then that the script let them down as there seemed to be little content for the main principals to get their teeth into. It was also a little short – first half was just half an hour and I can see now why they stretched the intro dance scene and the other singing numbers.

They do have a wealth of talent within this group and a very talented crew. It’s a shame that they don’t get in for longer at the tech to get the sound and lighting right but I understand that they only have one day to do this and can’t do anymore with the school lighting rig. There were some sound issues, of which they were aware and also some of the cast hadn’t learnt to project properly to the audience so sometimes it was hard to hear what they were saying even though a lot of them were miked up.

What was missing in the chorus numbers were SMILES! Some of the chorus looked very serious, and the concentration on their faces, which was probably due to remembering words as well as dances, meant that some of them didn’t look like they were enjoying themselves although I’m certain they were!

Most of the costumes were diverse, colourful and in period although they kept the chorus in modern costume which I thought a bit strange but it did seem to work in the end. Seeing Alice in her Victorian costume of blue and white and headband with the entire chorus in modern dresses did seem a little bizarre.

The white rabbit Ben Collins decided to do the role in an American accent, which I’m not sure worked but he did epitomise the role and rushed around the stage as only the white rabbit could.

There were excellent performances from the principals. The three Alices (Grace Upton, Daisy Greenwood & Lucy Greed, (small, medium and tall) were all good and had clear singing voices. All three had matching costumes and wigs and it was clever of the director to use three rather than change their scenery, which was minimal. Props – if you are going to say that a bottle looks pretty and that you are going to drink from it – please either fill it with some coloured liquid or paint the outside. A clear empty bottle doesn’t work!

Clearly spoken, well sung, energetic performances by Tweedledum and Tweedledee – Becky Wright and Becky Craig. I loved the acrobatics. Well done girls to do all that whilst singing.

Three actors played the Cheshire Cat – which was original as they narrated it between them very well but Alice Mason stood out as, like Sophie, she threw herself into her role and her personality shone through. Good teamwork from all three of them.

For me the production really upped its game when Sophie Stocker bounced onto the stage as the Caterpillar. This lady really has that special something and I remembered how good she was as the Wicked Witch in the panto. She acts with gusto and throws herself into her roles. Her impressive performance continued in the second half as the butterfly. I would love to see her do more drama as she is extremely talented.

In the second half we had the wonderful Mad Hatter played by Peter Greenwood. I really thought his costume and make up exceptional as he reminded me of some type of mad Halloween Tim Burton character. His height and slim build really gave him the edge for the madness and comedy of the character. I also loved the March Hare – Will Riglin who was his very bouncy sidekick. Both could belt out a tune and worked well together.

The Red Queen, Abigail Morgan was excellent in her cameo role and used her height to advantage. She had a very regal red costume and headdress and it was good to see her little husband, Harry Yelland, cowering beneath her.

All the cast gave their all on this first night and I didn’t hear a prompt. A lot of hard work had gone into this production and I do hope that this group go from strength to strength and get more young actors joining them. Well done KYDS!

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