Review: ALICE IN WONDERLAND, Shakespeare North Playhouse

The Shakespeare North Playhouse are taking audiences on an adventure into a timeless classic, in their production of Alice In Wonderland. However, instead of re-telling the famous story, writer Nick Lane and director Nathan Powell have re-invented the tale and given it a modern day twist.

We meet a grown-up Alice and her children who, after completing some Christmas shopping, decide to visit a local funfair. However, a series of events at the funfair lead Alice back to Wonderland, where she must save some familiar faces, including The Mad Hatter, from the villainous Duchess, all while trying to figure out how to get back home to her family.

There’s lots of of audience participation from the very first scene, including the famous pantomime shouts of “Oh no it isn’t, oh yes it is,” to moments when the characters ask the audience for help when Alice is trying to save her friends from The Duchess, which makes you feel like you are part of the story.

The cast effectively use the Shakespeare North’s theatre-in-the round staging throughout. The cast use all the entrances and exits to quickly change the scenes and keep the pace of the story moving along quickly. They are also used well for quick costume changes, including the impressive costume and character changes by Kelise Gordon-Harrison in act two, where she plays several characters during the Mad Hatter’s Christmas Tea Party.

And speaking of The Mad Hatter, this is just one of several characters played by Milton Lopes, who leaves the audience in awe with an incredible musical number that features aerial acrobatics. Lopes also delights with his hilarious performance as The Dodo, in a brilliant scene alongside Tia Larsen as The Talking Caterpillar. Their duologue has perfect comic timing and Larsen, who played the role of Card Two during press night, as well as The White Rabbit, delighted the audience with many humorous moments including creating an echo of the narration in the opening scenes.

Gordon-Harrison’s Cheshire Cat character is also brilliant, combining dance and acrobatics in her energetic and engaging performance. Meanwhile, Martha Godber’s Duchess is a perfect pantomime villain, particularly during her musical performances where you can see how much fun she is having playing the character.

Of course the story is not complete without Alice, with Helen Carter delighting the audience from the very first minute to the last with witty one-liners and beautiful vocals in the songs, which are all original compositions by Simon Slater. While many pantomimes feature songs that the audience already know, it is exciting and refreshing to hear original compositions in this production.

The compositions tell the story well, including a heartwarming ballad sung by Carter and Godber in act two, with the entire cast delivering the songs with pitch-perfect harmonies throughout.

Original, exciting and engaging, Alice In Wonderland at Shakespeare North Playhouse is enjoyable fun for all the family.

Alice in Wonderland is at Shakespeare North Playhouse until Saturday 11 January 2025.

Photo credits: Patch Dolan

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