ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS. To 20 January.
Bristol.
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
by Hattie Naylor after Lewis Carroll music & lyrics by Paul Dodgson.
Tobacco Factory North Street/Raleigh Road BS3 1TF To 20 January 2008.
Mon-Sun various dates 10am, 1pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm, 7,30pm.
no performance 6, 9, 15 Jan.
Runs 1hr 55min One interval.
TICKETS: 0117 902 0344.
www.tobaccofactory.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 29 December.
An utterly delightful Alice.
Sisterly misunderstanding frames Hattie Naylor’s Looking Glass Alice. Caroline Garland’s prettily demure girl feels outdone by her older sister and takes refuge through the living-room mirror (a craftily-constructed wall allows her to seem to go through the glass). There Alice moves from being the pawn her sister’s left her feeling, by making her way eight squares across a chessboard to become a queen.
There’s a magical ingenuity in Andy Burden’s production that takes the head-on modern techno-challenge of DVD and computer games by both beating and joining them.
Filmed inserts provide moving backgrounds and continue the action – the White Knight, prone to fall off his imaginary horse onstage, rides off, only to tumble again onscreen. Inserts also mark-out Alice’s progress, with chessboard and appropriate props at each stage of her chequered journey.
But the show also asserts the primacy of the live actor in a quintet of beautiful performances. There’s the floral trio determining whether Alice is flower or weed, while Violet and Lily pick on poor Daisy as an example of the latter. Or the three Toby Jugs appearing on a shelf, self-protective each time Alice tries touching one. Such moments gain immeasurably from Paul Dodgson’s lyrics and melodic music, always individual in flavour and making fine melodic impact, often from short phrases.
Such ensemble moments are handled expertly in Burden’s flawless, smooth-running production. Given the Tobacco Factory’s physical limitations it’s amazing how swiftly such a technically complex show moves between, as well as within, scenes. But it’s also blessed by a quintet of high quality individual performances.
Garland shows Alice’s determined intelligence, finding the strength to trade unexpected sandwiches for information, without losing the sense of a purposeful child. Other cast members are excellent throughout, such as Chris Bianchi’s Ticket Inspector clinging to the edge of a speeding train, Paul Mundell’s cheerily self-confident Humpty Dumpty, Ashley Christmas as White Queen or Walrus, and Hannah Summers who contrasts her commanding Red Queen with the sister who finally acknowledges affection for Alice.
Film and stage both create an action-stopping Jabberwock that’s one more unexpected delight in a delightful, inventive show.
White King/Shrinking Violet/Ticket Inspector/White Knight/Toby Jug/Door/Carpenter: Chris Bianchi.
White Queen/Daisy/Red King/Toby Jug/Soldier/Walrus: Ashley Christmas.
Alice: Caroline Garland.
Tiger Lily/Tweedledee/Toby Jug/Red Knight/Humpty Dumpty/Soldier: Paul Mundell.
Red Queen/Tweedledum/Bishop/Soldier/Sister: Hannah Summers.
Director: Andy Burden.
Designer: Charlie Camm.
Lighting: Matthew Graham.
Film Sequences: Mark Bishop (Big State Theatre).
Costume: Sara Marshall.
2007-12-31 22:16:09