Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Frodsham Players were back onstage this week with their production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, adapted by Simon Reade. Directed once again by Carole Shinkfield, this lovely play was a treat for its supportive audience. Set in the grounds of Castle Arts Centre and mostly in the round, it’s fair to say that the theatrical boundaries were pushed. The direction was strong and very sympathetic to all areas of the audience. Any form of this storyline can be hard to convey to audiences and I am always pleased with the creativity of ideas that each society brings - which was abundant in this production. The forefront of this story was the clear storytelling from all; No mean feat in the round AND outdoors to boot, but the storytelling and projection from all was brilliant. Visually this was great too. The costumes and properties are very important to the plot. All costumes helped establish character and the props added layers to scenes. I could tell that a lot of thought process had gone into both, even down to the finer details of different coloured shoes for the Mad Hatter etc. The set, although simplistic, was apt and the scene changes were extremely well rehearsed and choreographed which meant that scene changes were minimal and well produced. All your obvious hard work was seen and appreciated by the audiences. A huge well done to all involved. I also liked the added music to underscore scenes which in turn added layers too. Visually, the whole production was a treat for the eyes. I’ve seen many versions of this classic story and Simon Reade’s script is one of the best versions that I’ve seen.

Sophie Flowers portrayed the protagonist, Alice. Whilst I didn’t personally like the character of Alice (she was a little too precocious for me), I cannot fault Sophie’s acting ability. Her projection was great also and she had a lovely rapport with all her fellow actors. Clear storytelling too throughout!

Donna Burden was commanding as the Queen of Hearts and had a great awe of authority and distain. Julia Burgess equally had good stage presence as the Duchess, and David Leslie’s Mock Turtle was great to watch! I really enjoyed Carol Crooks as the White Rabbit who had great line delivery, as well as Sam Mulford, who shone in a number of roles such as March Hare and the Caterpillar. Sam is a great character actor and this was another good showcase for him. One of the standout moments for me was the great physicality and vocality from Donna Burden (Parrot), Sue Southern (Eagle), Murray Milligan (Dodo), and Martina Keith-Stewart (Duck). Their scene was wonderful to watch, and I loved each actor’s character interpretation – delightful!

Ian Lancaster was wonderful as always with his interpretation of the Mad Hatter. Ian’s energy and commitment to this role made him standout and he was joyful to watch.

There are far too many other actors for me to mention in this review, but each actor played their part very well and positively contributed to the plot and overall production. Saying that, I have to mention Isaac Bright who was wonderful as the Mouse, and the fantastic Rowan Bennett who nearly stole the show as the brilliant Dormouse! Certainly one to watch out for in the future!

This was a great and vibrant version of this classic tale. I sincerely enjoyed the whole production and for me, there wasn’t any real weak link. It is clear that the actors were extremely well rehearsed in both plot, characterisation and scene changes etc. Doing this play and doing it in the round is a brave task to undertake and I think it’s fair to say that it was a huge success. A huge well done to Carole Shinkfield and the entire company for a lovely night at the theatre. The Castle Park Arts Centre grounds was a great backdrop which allowed for many entrances and exits which in turn aided the storyline and overall pace.

I thank Frodsham Players for their kind invitation and wish them all the very best for their next production of Calendar Girls (the play) in December 2022.

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