4 STARS, December 7 - January 7. 'Simply frabjous!' says Richard Davies who saw the Rose's Christmas show with his 15-year-old daughter.
Photo by Mark Douet
Alice in Winterlandat Rose Theatre KingstonWritten by Lewis Carroll | Adapted and directed by Ciaran McConville | Music & lyrics by Eamonn O'DwyerJonathan Andrew HumeSusanna Van Den Berg Tony Timberlake Amanda GordonDaniel GoodeCreativeAdaptor & Director Ciaran McConvilleComposer & Lyricist Eamonn O'DwyerSet & Video Concept Timothy BirdCostume Designer Peter ToddLighting Designer Tim MascallSound Designer Leigh DaviesDesign Consultant David FarleyDesign & Video Administrator Hayley EganVideo Designer Daniel DentonAssociate Video Designer Letty FoxIllustrator Lucie ArnouxPuppet Director Yvonne StoneFight Director Lyndall GrantChoreographer Jamie NealeVoice Coach Josh MathiesonCasting Directors Lucy Jenkins CDG & Sooki McShane CDGAssociate Director Sarah HayhurstChildren's Casting Liberty Buckland & Jody Ellen RobinsonClowning Consultant Stephen SobalPuppet Maker Nick Ash
Alice in Winterland is a brand new musical adapted and directed by Ciaran McConville with music and lyrics by Eamonn O’Dwyer, based on the classic books by Lewis Carroll. I should start by saying that story-wise, it is a bit of a mash up. Not only does it merge Alice in Wonderland with Alice through the Looking Glass (similar to the Tim Burton movie, the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen become one person), it also throws in elements of CS Lewis’s Narnia, which I must say had my daughter and I more than a little confused. But don’t let that put you off, this is a superbly crafted piece of entertainment that all the family will enjoy.
In this “reimagined” version, Alice’s father, a widower, has returned home from the trenches of the First World War, broken in body and in spirit. No longer able to earn a living, he reluctantly must sell the family home and send Alice away with her Aunt Margaret to a finishing school where she can acquire the attributes necessary to attract a rich husband, her only possible salvation. Alice of course does not want to leave her father and wishes that she could stop time. In her distressed state, Alice meets the White Rabbit and falls down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, a land ruled by the despotic Queen of Hearts, who in “Groundhog day” fashion, has frozen time at two minutes to four on Christmas eve, which also happens to be her birthday. This provides lots of opportunities for the Queen to cry “Off with his/her head” when presents fall below expectations. After a series of strange encounters with many well-loved Carollian characters, as well as, slightly bizarrely, a pair of penguins (well, this is supposed to be a Christmas show) Alice discovers the hero inside herself to free Wonderland from the Queen’s tyranny.
On the whole, the story works. While I struggled at first with the First World War references, I can well see that making it about the Crimean war wouldn’t quite resonate. The problem with the Alice books is that they definitely do need something extra: what is wonderful about them is also what is rather difficult about them for a modern audience – i.e. they are completely nonsensical. (I have personal experience of trying and failing to read them to my own children.)
Putting the narrative to one side, what makes this show such a delight is the quality of the performance, with wonderful singing and stagecraft. It combines a handful of professional actors with a large young cast from the Rose Youth Theatre. On the press night, it was the turn of the Blue team, and what a talented bunch. We greatly enjoyed Madeleine Lynes as Alice, Frankie Oldham as the White Rabbit, Emily Porter as an incredibly cute Dormouse and Rhea Norwood was outstanding as the March Hare. Amongst the grown-ups, the star of the show was Susannah Van Den Berg, who plays both Aunt Margaret and the Queen of Hearts. She combines a magnificent operatic voice with a huge comedic talent, bringing to mind Matt Lucas in his more outrageously camp roles.
What makes the show really come alive is Timothy Bird’s design, using projectors to animate a very large visual space. The costumes by Peter Todd – especially the Queen of Hearts’ ball gown and the extraordinary undercarriage of the blue caterpillar – all add to the magic. Finally – and I don’t want to give too much away – there is some brilliantly executed and visually stunning Chinese style puppetry, particularly in the climactic second half. I was also impressed at how puppeteering techniques were used to move around the Cheshire Cat, purringly played by Amanda Gordon.
My main criticism is that the first half feels a bit languorous in parts, which as already stated, comes with the territory of Lewis Carroll. However, this is more than made up for by an exhilarating second half as Alice discovers and channels her inner girl power.
We left the theatre feeling quite elated. In my case this was partly because it's marvellous to see such an imaginative and ambitious production premiering in Kingston-upon-Thames; we are really so privileged to have the Rose Theatre in our midst. But also because, in these strange times, it is simply frabjous still to celebrate the imaginative output of a shy, stuttering Oxford mathematician who invented these characters and stories to entertain a ten year old girl during their rowing expeditions on the Thames. It is a product of a more innocent age – let’s enjoy it while we can.
Alice in Winterland is at Rose Theatre until January 7; tickets at Box Office
