Tuesday 24 November 2015

WONDER.LAND: NATIONAL THEATRE (OLIVIER)- 24.11.15



The saying 'curiosity killed the cat' could have many meanings when it comes to the famous tale of 'Alice in Wonderland.' If i'm being honest, my curiosity for the production had waned a little since booking tickets back in July.

This was by no means because I didn't think it would be any good...it's been on my 'SHOWS COMING UP' list since I started the blog! If I were to self diagnose my lack of awe and wonder at this stage, i'm prescribing a case of 'all Alice'd out.' Having put on two 'Alice' productions in my previous Drama teaching career, you get a little 'squeezed' of all creative thought avenues with this story.

Thankfully, a long enough gap had passed between my 'Alice' shenanigans, and there have been so many non-Alice events that this had enough exciting elements to prick my ears up again.




After chewing the fat about our semi-crap past few weeks, my buddy and I arrived tired but caffeinated to a lobby full of technological interactions! This snapped me right out of my commuter frenzied state and hooked me into the present moment. The ideal mind-set was emerging as I waltzed around creating an avatar on an i-pad, taking Cheshire Cat selfie's and making music 'a la BIG' on a plasma screen. My friend and I were in the perfect playful mood and we grew curiouser and 
curiouser.







Why should you go and see this?

The play isn't a re-telling of 'Alice', but uses Alice as a stimulus to layer another story on top. We meet Aly, who is a young mixed-race girl, and is finding it hard to deal with being a teenager that isn't comfortable with who she is.


Aside from her 'Kevin and Perry' approach to her views on her Mum ('Your Mum' by the way is one of the simplest yet catchiest songs of the production and will be playing over in my head tonight guaranteed) Aly's endearing yet irresponsible 'Russell Brand-alike' father lives apart from her. She's also being bullied about her weight and how she looks by three charming teenage girls at school.




Cue the disaffected teenager who seeks life online storyline. Except, this wasn't the package we were delivered. Aly who sets up an account on gaming site 'Wonder.land' makes an Avatar so different to herself, that it takes up the form of familiar blonde, petite Alice. She decides to explore the online world through her avatar and in doing so, takes a journey that lots of us may have experienced growing up; a joy-ride in trying to work out who we are.

Alice goes from self-loathing, to different emotional states throughout the story, and we get to see flickering moments between 'online' and 'real-life'. The use of projections was excellent and the graphics were ingenious (as the National Theatre always are when it comes to this kind of stuff!)

The play didn't just highlight the 'escapism' and artificial side of having an online presence, but it also examined how it could be an amazing and creative outlet. It didn't just have a 'bash' at youngsters either which I felt was more representative of daily life. I spend as much time on my phone now as the average teen, not because I'm a disaffected person, but because I'm doing more work in the media industry and have to plug away at my social media and constantly apply for things!

Costumes were impressive yet unpredictable, with one of the most amusing costumes being the oversized Mouse who also gets the award for funniest lines in the play:

'Hiding underneath this fat mouse face is 100% DENCH!'

Best bits for me were:



  • The initial appearance of the floating 'Alice Avatar' and the use of the gauze and projections to create the illusion that she was in a virtual world 
  • The White Rabbit who reminded me of Donnie Darko
  • The Caterpillar and his 'body parts'
  • The Zombie attack scene which was choreographed so well and the use of graphics and animation here too
  • The Teacher was a very strong character and most popular with the audience. An example of excellent casting 
  • The 'tube' being created out of trolleys and a moving slow vehicle-I never get tired of a theatrical 'tube' representation I must say!


I also thoroughly enjoyed the score and could feel the blurry touches of Damon Albarn all over the place. There was a funky yet indie feel to the music, but musical conventions were not neglected and at times, even the 'slowies' which normally send me to sleep had some wonderful harmonies.

There were highs and minimal weak spots. I liked the 'father' character, but felt his scenes held less strength in them. This could be due to the 'believe-ability' factor, although it wasn't entirely lost on me.

I was impressed and left smiling 'Cheshire Cat style' after this, and it had everything a modern National Theatre production should have. Go along and expect to be delighted!