Alice Unhinged, Pleasance Courtyard, Review

Submitted by Jon Cross on Sun, 7 Aug '16 11.49am
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Rating (out of 5)
4
Show info
Company
Young Pleasance
Production
Joanna Billington & Will Feasey(Writers), Jerome Reid (Stage Management), Will Feasey (Set Design, Construction & Painting), Simone Jones (Costume Design)
Performers
Phoebe Stapleton (Alice), Hamish Lloyd Barnes (Cheshire Cat), Alex Holley (Knave of Hearts), Phoebe Campbell (Red Queen), Finn O'Riordain (Red King), Nathan Emoike (White Rabbit), Dan Norton-Smith (Mad Hatter), Gabriel Ross (March Hare), Ruby Hines (Dormouse)
Running time
60mins

In a crowded night-club, Alice is struggling to find a place to dance; the floor is packed with strangely costumed creatures in mad hats adorned with spectacles, binoculars, furry ears. Above the dancers is curled a grinning DJ, setting the beat, marking the time, counting the ticks and the tocks. A knaveish fellow makes his move on Alice, but someone has spiked her drink and she stumbles and spins to the floor. But did she trip, or is she tripping?

She cannot be roused in this world, but she awakens in a strangely familiar place. Can this be deja vu all over again? Is that really the White Rabbit? He looks different, and he has finally caught up with his date. How will the story unfold this time?

In this engaging reinvention of Lewis Carroll's timeless classic, Young Pleasance bring all the much-loved characters back to life. The writing is well-suited to a large young company, allowing a series of cameo performances to emerge from and melt back into the ensemble.

Phoebe Stapleton delivers a polished performance as the bewildered Alice in search of herself amidst all the madness, but Phoebe Campbell's Red Queen steals the show, towering above the action, barking husky commands to her cowering subjects.

Some of the characters view Alice's arrival as a Second Coming which will overthrow the tyranny. Alice just wants to find her way back home through the chaos, but she will have to find herself first as the characters mirror her swirling thoughts and feelings. As the looking glass bounces back reflections of Alice after Alice, she must find the key that will set her free.

This show is a delightful and highly entertaining piece of organised chaos. And the hats! Madness!

Times: August 5-20, 1:30pm