A rabbit in white motorcycle leathers, a Cheshire cat with a seductive Russell Brand sway, and a kid with an attitude as big as her striped knee-high socks – this is Alice, a twenty-first century adaption of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, and what finer setting for a post-modern Wonderland than Sheffield.
These days it’s a rare old thing for a regional theatre to commission it’s own productions, and Sheffield Theatres didn’t hesitate to remould the original story and make it their own, in the recently refurbished Crucible.
My evening got off to a hare-raising start as I was issued with a complimentary pair of rabbit ears, which I dutifully donned for the duration of the performance.
In a journey that takes us through the strange and curious corridors inside Alice’s head, she encounters a baby that morphs into a pig, a fat caterpillar with sparkly deely boppers and a cast who take on multiple characters – was that Alice’s Mum or the Queen of Hearts, her Uncle or Humpty Dumpty? All of this aptly captures Carroll’s sense of the surreal.
Stroppy teenager, Alice, was a far cry from the meek and softly spoken Minnie that I recognised from the BBC drama, Lark Rise to Candleford. Although I felt the script was unnecessarily fruity at times, actor Ruby Bentall made a confident lead, as well as a convincing transition from the screen to the stage. Now she needs to turn up the volume a notch, as sometimes her voice seemed a bit too small and too fast. The Queen made a fabulous tyrant, but my favourite characters were twins Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee in their over-sized shorts playing a Eukele-tastic duet.
Sound, light, technology and the stage trap door were used to create the wild and wacky wanderings of Alice’s mind. I loved the way the White Rabbit appeared from the seat of Alice’s armchair and disappeared into a cauldron of broth. The talking flamingo croquet mallets were a hoot, as were the band of singing airmen, one with a most percussive bedside cabinet.
Zany riddles, songs and tongue-in-cheek dances laced the narrative. It was only slightly tinged by the potted explanation towards the end. After all, part of the charm of Carroll is the mystery and intrigue when we’re left to unravel the layers and meanings of his absurd world for ourselves.
Nevertheless, I felt a strange sense of pathos as Alice left her demons peering out from the wings and she realized it was time to move on. I left the theatre with my rabbit ears full of laughter and applause; it was well worth the trip to Wonderland.
For your chance to win a family ticket to see Alice, complete the following line with the correct missing word from Lewis Carroll’s original story: ‘Twinkle, twinkle little …’
The Culture Vulture is giving away two family tickets for Saturday 3 July, at 2.30pm or 7.30pm.
Tweet your answer by 1 July + ‘win me tickets to see Alice’ to @crucibletheatre to enter the competition. NB. This a family show but not recommended for very young children.
Alice runs till Saturday 24 July
Crucible Theatre, Tudor Square, Sheffield
Tickets: £12 (matinees), £17/ £19 (evenings)
Box office: 0114 2496000
www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Sounds like a really interesting production 😀 Wish I could magic myself to Sheffield to experience the wild and wacky Wonderland!