This isn’t a sponsored post.
BrumHour saw Alice in Wonderland at the invite of The Old Rep.
By Julie Wallis
Review: Alice in Wonderland at The Old Rep
Welcome to Wonderland!
The Old Rep is hosting a terrific production of the classic tale, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. From the young actors of BOA (Birmingham Ormiston Academy), this is as slick and professional as anything else I’ve seen this year.
With a slight change to the story, this presents the story as Alice telling her three daughters Annie, Emily and Lottie the story you are probably familiar with, of the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, all the playing cards and the Queen of Hearts.
A lot of catchy tunes and plenty of laughs made this a real family favourite and I thought it wonderful to hear even the very youngest children, toddlers really, were laughing out loud at some of the particularly child-friendly moments. Such as when nobody can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star without getting the words wrong. A child sitting behind me who could have been no older than 24 months was mesmerised throughout and laughing loudly at all the right moments.
This is perfect family entertainment, I particularly loved the way the Cheshire Cat did disappear until all that was left was just his grin.
With a different cast performing each night, it would be unfair of me to name-check but I will say Alec Fellows Bennett who as acting coach, has done a wonderful job. To say the cast are all so young, they really have put on a totally professional performance. Neil Hughes costume designer has also done some stellar work, the cast all looked awesome and exactly as you’d hope a mad hatter, or a talking door should look.
I’ve never seen a talking door before, but these talking doors had me believing. A few simple but clever tricks make the audience believe that the table is too tall or the girls are falling down an endless rabbit hole.
This is absolutely perfect for young and old alike, with no scares, no loud noises, plenty of laughs, no threat or mild danger and a smattering of audience participation. Each act lasts 50 minutes with plus a 20 minute interval.
This is an excellent Christmas show for all the family, book tickets for Alice in Wonderland which is at The Old Rep until Friday 17th December here: oldreptheatre.co.uk/calendar/?calid=2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,1,12&pid=3&viewid=1&event=353
