Mercury Theatre Summer Family Show | Alice in Wonderland Review

We were invited along to see Alice in Wonderland Land at Mercury this weekend and the clever modern twist on the story was beautifully done.

With a strong cast and catchy songs, the musical show made for a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon. The drunken duchess’s performance especially, played by Rosalind Ford was brilliantly funny. With witty dialogue and slick choreography, the story was woven together with clever set changes and colourful costumes – the show felt slick and seamless transporting us the into the many weird and wonderful worlds of wonderland. Ruby Ablett who plays Alice, carries the show effortlessly. Her portrayal of the worried teenager, shows the many sides of being in that inbetween stage of life, with all the mix up of emotions that come with it.

What’s the Show Like?

We are introduced to Alice as a teenager, waking up on a hectic morning, dealing with the stress of an upcoming exam. As this morning progresses, we meet the first set of characters, who will then all morph into their wonderland versions as the play goes on.

Alongside the Duchess, Rosalind Ford also plays Alice’s mum – One of the opening scenes is her stood at the stove, baby on hip bringing a lovely warmth to the character, as she gives her daughter advice for the big day ahead. Perfectly contrasted with her older sister played by Hannah Azuonye, whose  attitude and subtle sibling teasing was pitched just right. I’ve found occasionally in performances aimed at children, that the teen age group can be tricky to portray, with them ended up a caricature of the moody Kevin. This wasn’t the case in this play, along with the school bullies and Alice’s school, friends it felt just right – the sister character’s subtle smug grin, and mocking eye rolls were perfectly timed to demonstrate her feelings towards her sister and resonated with both my children, making him really laugh at the scene unfolding.

Once the tension has been built, Alice finally arrives at school tasked with tackling her unknown future head on – an exam. The inevitable then happens as the rabbit appears and the story takes a very different turn with her falling into wonderland.

Something I thought this production did well, was setting out such defined characters in the opening scenes, that then morphed into their wonderland alter egos. It felt a clever surprise who would take on what persona and added interest seeing how those personalities would transfer.

That is apart from the head teacher/queen of hearts. The moment she stepped on stage, her outfit, demeanour and sharp, cutting  dialogue meant you knew exactly who she was going to end up as. Not that it was a bad thing, especially with a storyline that’s so abstract and topsy turvy, it was nice to feel you had that assumed certainty, of one thing you thought of that may then come up.

As the play goes on, the audience is taken on a journey together with Alice, as she is introduced to different characters and places within wonderland. Along with the cast, the sets and costumes are clever at conjuring up different mini worlds within the magic kingdom. Colour plays a big part. With the large red and pale blue backdrop playing homage to the original, there’s then different subtle colour palettes cleverly pulling together each separate scene, while still allowing the characters and costumes to shine.  

The musical numbers brought the story together and more than just the songs and the music, having the visible band in the background (with their little costume nods to the scene) were another element that brought the show alive. My son especially liked this element, commenting, when they’d changed hats etc to match what was happening.

Who is the Show For?

This is great family show that the adults can enjoy along with their children. I think because the story has been adapted and tells the story through the lenses of teenage angst, it will appeal to older children and teens alike – giving them a great message too, of not having to have it all figured out just yet.

How Can I get Tickets?

The show is running at the mercury theatre in Colchester until Sunday the 14th August and you can book tickets on the Mercury theatre website.