Matt Pereira
"An interactive evening of Wonderland fun and nonsense" is Janice Dempsey's verdict on interactive production that is 'Alice In Wonderland' produced by the Guildford Shakespeare Company. Join Alice in her adventures to Wonderland until Nov 3.
Details
Venue: St Mary's Church, Quarry Street, Guildford
Upcoming Shows & Times:
13 October – 3 November 2018
Mon - Fri 6.30pm | 7.30pm | 8.30pm
Saturdays 5.30pm | 6.30pm | 7.30pm | 8.30pm
Tickets/More Info: From 16.50
www.guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk
Our Verdict
Where’s more suitable than Guildford to stage a theatrical experience based on Lewis Carroll’s classics? Here the Rev. Charles Dodgson, as Lewis Carroll, settled six of his seven sisters and often visited them. Here, he wrote The Hunting of the Snark and he’s even buried in the Mount Cemetery.
And here in St Mary’s Church, he used to preach on visits to Guildford, and as we collect our tickets for the GSC’s Alice in Wonderland, he’s here again, smiling and avuncular, welcoming us as his congregation, in the person of Elliot Giuralarocca. But Alice is among us; the congregation becomes the audience and suddenly the adventure begins.
Alice is a typically bright, lively, curious child, in common with several members of the audience, and Amelia Annowska keeps us continually engaged. She’s plummeted down the rabbit hole in a brilliant piece of stagecraft. We meet the supercilious, exotic Caterpillar (Eliot Giuarlarocca again, perfectly disguised) smoking his hookah in a side chapel transformed into a purple grotto.
We’re then whisked off by the jokey Three of Hearts (Josh Penfold – what a card!) out into Quarry Street and up to the Guildford Museum, and find Alice already there, wandering through its transformed rooms with more Cards inviting us to explore.
We’re all following the White Rabbit, of course, and he’s here too, reading proclamations of Carroll’s inspired nonsense, parodies of Victorian verse, and ordering a confused and resentful Alice about, mistaking her for his maidservant.
My favourite part of the night is the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, with the whole audience taking part while Alice tries to deal with her insane hosts (Dominic Rye as the White Rabbit, James Burton as the Mad Hatter and Jack Whitam as the Hare). This is a hilarious episode where everyone is totally involved.
The climax of the evening and the book is enacted inside Guildford Castle Keep. Robert Maskell and Angie Wallis hold the court of the King and Queen of Hearts with great comic performances. A smiling dad from the audience is tried for the theft of the Queen’s tarts. (His little girl had been thrilled and captivated by interacting with the characters in the church and the museum and seemed unfazed by the Queen’s threats to “cut off his head!”).
It’s easy to understand why digital technology has been used as a way of including some favourite scenes in the museum. This seemed to meet the expectations of the children in the audience perfectly well, though my own preference is always for live actors. I loved the interactive elements of the evening: the "smart-alec" Cards, the rude Caterpillar, the moralising Cook, the opportunity to press a button to make Alice grow or shrink inside the Rabbit’s house, and the chaotic tea party. Like the original book, Alice in Wonderland is for anyone, of any age.
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Matt Pereira
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Matt Pereira
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Matt Pereira