Alice in Wonderland, Derby Theatre Review
Photography: Pamela Raith
Written by Sam for Theatre and Tonic.
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.
Derby Theatre’s production of Alice in Wonderland provides viewers with an unexpected adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale. Written by Nicola Werenowska, Alice lands in a new world after following a rabbit down a tunnel with no idea where it will lead. As the story unfolds, Alice meets some interesting characters that all want her to take on the Queen of Hearts as she’s forbidden British Sign Language (BSL) in Wonderland. Alice herself is deaf and uses BSL, so I thought this was an excellent way to incorporate BSL into the story as majority of the main cast sign.
The script is clever, funny, inclusive, respects people’s pronouns/identities and has a modern day take on today’s world. Basing it on BSL and writing that the Queen’s agenda is to prevent people from using it, was a good twist as it highlights problems that people with different needs still experience today.
Firstly, what a cast. It’s always a joy to see Becky Barry perform as she’s one talented individual but this production is filled with multi-talented actor-musos who completely blew me away. We had stunning vocals from the Queen of Hearts (April Nerissa Hudson) and Mad Hatter (Naomi Gray), a drumming, clarinet and guitar playing French Rabbit (Rhiannon Hopkins), a Cheshire Cat that knows his way around the accordion, guitar, piano and percussion box (Dominic Rye), a smooth jazz-tastic, piano and guitar playing Caterpillar (Chloma Uma) and lastly, Dinah the cat (Becky Barry) who played the flute, piccolo and sang and interpreted for Alice (Rhiannon May).
It's my first-time seeing Rhiannon May, Brooklyn Melvin, EJ Raymond and Caroline Parker perform in a BSL production and they made it their own. Unfortunately, I don’t know BSL but in certain scenes, all of them put their emotions across when signing. As someone who is not hard of hearing, I don’t see the performers in any other way, I just let myself get immersed into whatever I’m watching because everyone deserves the right to do what they love. Theatre must continue to be inclusive, and Derby Theatre should be proud of always catering for all.
Another beautiful moment was when Alice (Rhiannon May) was dancing but signing at the same time. It was almost like I was at a contemporary dance show as she moves so gracefully around the stage and the scene with the lit-up doors was also really well choreographed.
The scenery is possibly one of Derby Theatre’s strongest setups for a long time. Emily Bestow, Set Designer, has utilised the whole stage and even parts of the theatre itself. The colours are beautiful to look at and the main props/pieces have been designed so that they are interchangeable which is extremely sustainable – both for the environment and to keep production costs down. The centre piece, which is used as the Queen’s podium can be turned around and new fronts added, so for example, the scene with the Cheshire Cat changes to a giant soup bowl which means there are minimal changes required so scene changes are quite slick.
After speaking to an audience member, she told me her son was in the show and I started asking questions about how that happened, i.e. are the children from the same school? She replied with no, Derby Theatre offered open auditions for children of a certain age to be in the production. I love this approach as it gives children a chance to experience what life is really like on stage whilst also learning from quality actors/actresses. All of them were included in some way, they were signing and some of them were given lines which again, adds to the inclusivity of the performance.
Overall, there was something missing in this production for me, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it was. The second half of the show was a lot stronger, and the pace seemed to pick up. I know it’s an adaptation, but it wasn’t chaotic or angry enough as I was expecting when it came to scenes with certain characters (Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts), and they are a key part of the story. They are supposed to draw you in and divide opinions but that didn’t happen here.
There were also a few microphone issues throughout the performance which did impact the start of the show as it opens with a song, so it didn’t feel as impactful as it could have been. The cast tried to project whenever this happened, and we were just able to hear them. Technical issues do occur so it’s always great to see the cast turn a challenging situation around.
This show is truly for all, even those without children, so go on your own little adventure and experience Alice and her antics with the Wonderlanders at Derby Theatre until 6 July 2024. There are still plenty of tickets left so secure yours by clicking here!
★ ★ ★.5