Albany's Alice in Wonderland will have you grinning like a Cheshire Cat
Alice in Wonderland at the Albany Theatre, Coventry from Saturday 7 December to Sunday 29 December.
Review by David Court.
In Christmas of last year, I was lucky enough to see the Albany Theatre’s exemplary production of Oliver Twist, a particularly dark take of the serialised novel. This year sees the theatre’s Artistic Director Kevin Shaw return for another retelling of a classic, this time shifting from the social critique of Dickens to the whimsy and fantastical realms of Lewis Carroll.
Originally published in 1865, the influence of Alice in Wonderland on the fantasy genre cannot be understated. It is a piece of work that has been adapted for stage, screen and videogames and its menagerie of oddball characters have firmly embedded themselves in pop culture.
Alice in Wonderland, photo by Dylan Parrin.
As with Oliver Twist, the play achieves a great deal with a small yet superbly talented ensemble cast. As Alice wanders through the fanciful realms of Wonderland, all the cast do a terrific job of bringing the various oddballs and anthropomorphised animal inhabitants of this surreal kingdom to life. There’s not a weak performance amongst them and it feels unfair to single anybody out, but mention must go to Dru Stephenson’s performance as the Caterpillar – quintessentially hilarious, solely due to her clearly channelling Ralph Brown’s turn as Danny the Dealer from the 1987 movie Withnail and I; very appropriate, considering the psychedelic mushroom related material.
As previously stated though, there’s not a weak link amongst the cast – I was amused to hear a variety of regional accents portrayed amongst the Wonderland citizenry, never expecting the Queen of Heart’s husband to have such a broad Birmingham accent. I made special note of Paul Nolan’s performance as Fagin in last year’s Oliver Twist, and he especially delights as the gryphon here – The Queen of Hearts' reluctant executioner.
And of course, it is Alice as the glue who holds it all together – Cerys Lee-Jones proves more than worthy of the task, convincingly naïve and in awe of her fantastical new surroundings yet amusing cynical of this realm’s preposterous authority.
Even the strongest of performances couldn’t quite fully capture the magic of Wonderland though, and it’s here where the technical wizardry and sheer ingenuity of the sets, lighting and scenery shines through. From Alice’s tumble down the rabbit hole, to a simple yet amazingly elegantly realised Cheshire Cat, through to practical effects and stage work making the shrinking and growing scenes utterly convincing, it’s a masterclass in how to do a lot with a little. (Mad) hats off to the stage teams, who impress throughout. Set design is simple yet effective, with a glowing circle motif in the backdrop revealing the scenery of Wonderland.
And despite the promotional material clearly stating it’s not a pantomime, it’s good to see some elements of the festive season shine through. There’s audience interaction for the little ones (and the not so little ones caught up in the spirit), and Kevin Shaw’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland had me grinning like a Cheshire Cat throughout. Thoroughly recommended, and I simply cannot wait to see what they do next year.
For tickets, click here.
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