Alice in Wonderland may not go back as far in history as many fairytales, but Lewis Carroll’s book (and its sequel) must be among the very best known of children’s stories, and the most adapted. Alongside the various versions in film, ballet, pantomime and the rest, the story was first turned into a musical during the author’s lifetime, and there have been others, but this latest musical theatre production aims to shake off its twee Victorian trappings and reimagine it for a modern audience.
The first clever twist in this modernisation process is to use a bit more history in the telling. Alice (played with immense energy by Paislie Reid) is upset because the tape she had of her dead father’s voice has got stuck in her broken stereo and, in trying to fix it whilst hindered by her little brother Lewis, all the buttons have popped off. So we begin with a Rabbit, who is called Eject, explaining to the younger members of the audience how an audio cassette works. Alice needs to find all the other buttons and restore them to the stereo to hear her dad’s voice again. Eject (a spectacular Myles Miller) becomes her guide as she shrinks to miniature size and finds herself inside the broken machine.
In the book for the show, Stockroom have cleverly mapped many of the familiar characters from the original story onto buttons. We first meet Rewind and Fast Forward, who might well be Tweedledum and Tweedledee, followed by a Mock Turtle who is Record, a Caterpillar as Stop, and Volume who seems to be the March Hare. A huge hit with the audience is Bez, the Cheshire cat, and I won’t spoil one of the funniest puns in the script by giving away which button he represents! Frustrating Alice’s efforts to mend the stereo are the Queen of Charts and her meddling sister the Queen of Clubz, brilliantly brought to life by Leanne Jones and Natasha Lewis.
There is a great deal of multi-tasking among the cast, many of whom play multiple roles as well as providing all the music, under the direction of Bob Broad, who sits atop the set at the keyboards. Steve Simmonds and Daniel Carter-Hope are Rewind and fast Forward as well as Play and Record, with Carter-Hope also appearing as the Dad Hatter. Jerome Lincoln and Zweyla Mitchell Dos Santos also multi-role alongside their key characters of Volume and Lewis.
But it is Tomi Ogbaro who steals the show with practically every appearance. As well as the chilled, bubble-pipe smoking caterpillar Stop and the adorable, fluffy Cheshire cat Bez, Ogbaro pulls off the biggest costume coup of the show as the transformer-like and mildly terrifying Jabberwock.
The musical language of the show (music and lyrics are by Vikki Stone) is eclectic and vibrant, and heavily reliant on hip hop, and while a lot of the songs are in a rap style there is plenty of tuneful material to keep you humming through the interval and on the way home.
Director Kate Wasserberg has gauged the pacing and dramatic arcs of the show to perfection. The two acts, running at around 60 and 40 minutes respectively, both have real structure and shape to them and, unlike many a new show (and this one impressively hit Press Night after only 2 previews) there isn’t an ounce of it that needs trimming. Here and there some scene changes feel a little clunky, with a lot of manual furniture moving going on, but this is certain to become more slick as the run continues.
Alice in Wonderland is like a Rock’n’roll panto for the summer, and with an age suggestion of 7+ it is definitely fun for all the family.
The show is co-produced by Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse in association with Stockroom and Theatre Royal Plymouth.
This review was originally written for and published by Musical Theatre Review
Star Rating: four stars ★★★★
Paislie Reid and Myles Miller in Alice in Wonderland - Image © The Other Richard
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