Alice in Wonderland
Liverpool Playhouse
Based on Lewis Carroll’s classic novel, this modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland is a fantastic musical romp across different genres to produce a heartfelt, family-friendly musical, with just a hint of panto.
In this production, Wonderland is a broken stereo. A mix tape produced by Alice’s (Paislie Reid) recently deceased Father has become stuck in the stereo, but luckily Alice is able to fix anything, so she quickly gets to work repairing the stereo. Unfortunately, her attempts don’t quite go to plan and she finds herself trapped inside the stereo. Her only way out is to save the stereo from the evil plans of sisters the Queen of Clubz (with a z) and the Queen of Charts. Along the way, Alice meets a variety of different stereo buttons, and with the support of her brother Lewis (Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos) discovers the importance of empathy and learns how to cope with the loss of her Dad.
Music is truly at the heart of this production and there are some fantastic songs across a range of musical styles. Officially billed as Brit-pop, the music was reminiscent of Stock Aitken Waterman, crossed with late 90’s easy rock and just a smidge of rap in the form of a rap battle between characters.
With the exception of one keyboard, all of the music is performed by the cast on stage. Their performances as musicians were always incorporated into the scene, meaning at any one time the cast may have to sing, act or play an instrument whilst in full costume. That is no mean feat, particularly when the instruments ranged from cellos and guitars, right through to trombones and marching drumkits.
A clip of Leanne Jones performing You Are Not Invited from this production of Alice in Wonderland is available on the Liverpool Playhouse YouTube channel and perfectly showcases the quality of the music and lyrics within this production.
The classic panto elements of cheering for the good guys, booing the bad guys and shouting “he’s behind you” are all present in this show, as well as more than a couple of mild-inuendos / jokes on two levels. The audience participation isn’t forced, but is encouraged very cleverly. During the rap battle, one of the stereo buttons holds up signs, similar to those seen during a boxing match, which told the audience what to do. This nod to the audience that participation is accepted with a simple “Boo” sign was very neatly tied into the entire production, but ensured the cast received the feedback they were expecting.
The set and costume design for this show are outstanding. The Jaberwocky robotic costume is a particular highlight, but every single costume translated very well to the rear of the Dress Circle where we were sitting. The set was multi-layered with secret tables pulling out from certain elements, and providing elevated platforms for Alice to climb on and off. A particular highlight was when Alice first fell into Wonderland and was too big for the stereo. A giant arm came out from the stereo and took a drink from the Eject button who then returned to the stage with a puppet version of Alice as she had been made very small. A simple but very effective way to incorporate the growing and shrinking elements of Carroll’s original book.
This is an incredibly talented cast, with outstanding performances throughout the show.
Paislie Reid as Alice is on the stage for the majority of the show. There were only three scenes that she wasn’t part off, and her energy levels did not dip once throughout the show. Even during a montage of learning empathy, where she essentially completed a High Intensity Work Out whilst singing, didn’t slow her down. We were tired just watching her!
Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos also delivered a stand out performance as Lewis. Every trait that an annoying little brother has whilst being desperate for their older sisters attention was incorporated into the performance but in a very nuanced way. In a role that could have been easily over-acted, Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos gave a very considered delivery where even an apparently minor moment of hugging Alice displayed a perfect sibling relationship.
Finally, Tomi Ogbaro as Bez, The Jaberwocky and Stop brought so much energy to each of the different roles he played whilst also making sure each character was unique. When an actor is playing so many roles, there is a danger of muddying the roles so that each character is just a part of a larger one, but Tomo Ogbaro didn’t do this at all. His performance as The Jaberwocky was particularly impressive given his face was completely covered by the costume. All of the emotion within that role had to be conveyed just by his dialogue, and within 3 lines the entire audience had fallen in love with the mis-understood Jaberwocky.
This production is on at the Liverpool Playhouse until 22nd July, and then from the 1st to 5th August is on at the Plymouth Theatre Royal. This is a really fun show perfect for all the family, and one we’d recommend catching before it finishes in Liverpool.
Our tickets to this production were kindly gifted by The Liverpool Playhouse in exchange for an honest review.
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