“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An enchanting and captivating production from a hugely talented cast.”
Every year The Old Rep, in conjunction with the students from the Birmingham Ormiston Academy put on a Christmas production.
Previous years have seen interpretations of Pinocchio and The Snow Queen. This year it’s the turn of Lewis Carroll’s wonderful Alice in Wonderland.
In this adaptation Alice (Holly Katabalwa) is telling her three daughters, Annie (Emma Painter), Emily (Holly Rolfe) and Lottie (Abbie Dixon) of her time in Wonderland. She recounts her adventures with the White Rabbit (Lena Bettles), the Cheshire Cat (Madeleine Atkinson), the Mad Hatter (Dean Rickards) and her encounters with the Queen of Hearts (Grace Hull). Oh, and not forgetting Bill the Lizard (Harry Blissit) and Pat the Guinea Pig (Harvey Newton)!
The production is just FULL of catchy, energetic songs, I’m almost certain they are all originals as we didn’t recognise any of them. The most catchy of which, in my humble opinion, was the country and western infused number that the Mad Hatter sings, about never cleaning up but instead moving one place along.
The best vocals go to Emma Painter, Holly Rolfe and Abbie Dixon who were all pitch perfect and worked incredibly well as a trio with great harmonies, but it is important to state that all of the vocals in this show were brilliant. This really is a very talented cast.
Of course, one of the main challenges of adapting Alice in Wonderland is how exactly do you manifest a giant, grinning disappearing cat? Our Cheshire cat and his ghostly detached smile is all present and correct here. Well, as much as you can expect the Cheshire Cat to be. Madeleine Atkinson played this role perfectly. Do look out in the foyer for the cat watching you walk through as well.
The stage is set up to confuse and mesmerise, with black and white checkerboard flooring, and embellishments around the edge of the stage designed to resemble the innards of a pocket watch, just like the one the White Rabbit carries. Various sets come and go, including the iconic tea party and croquet lawn.
We loved Alice in Wonderland. Matilda adored the White Rabbit who was absolutely fabulous and made Matilda chuckle lots and Jemima had a great time bopping along to all of the songs. The cast really kept all of us entertained, with lots of jokes, giggles and some audience interaction. Us grownups loved the professionalism of the cast. These are some very talented cast members who you wouldn’t believe were students and not fully qualified actors and actresses.
“We’re all mad here” is a common refrain from Wonderland. Well, in our opinion you’d be mad not to check it out this year.
You can purchase tickets here: https://www.oldreptheatre.co.uk/
Disclaimer: We were invited along to the press showing. All thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.