Wonderland - a new twist on Alice's Adventure

Review by Sue Roberts

Hailed by the New York Times as “inspirational”, Wonderland is an enchanting musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, with a huge heart, a medley of magic and a whole lot of wonder.

Alice (Rachael Wooding of Britain’s Got Talent fame) is disillusioned with life after her husband left her and daughter Ellie (played brilliantly by Naomi Morris) wants her to move on with life. Alice, however, wants to leave the real world behind her and this is where the magic starts as she follows the White Rabbit (David Willetts - seasoned West End performer) into Wonderland, along with Ellie and the ‘bin man’ Jack (Stephen Webb) from the downstairs flat who has a secret crush on her. Here she meets all the weird and wonderful characters from the stories – Queen of Hearts (Wendi Peters, TV and West End star), Caterpillar (played with much overacting and comedy by Kayi Ushe), Cheshire Cat (a wonderfully camp and acrobatic portrayal by Dominic Owen) and for me the star of the show the Mad Hatter (a completely over the top acting and singing performance by Natalie McQueen).

The sets were simple but effective, as were the costumes. The singing voices of Rachael Wooding, Stephen Webb and Natalie McQueen were outstanding with good supporting singing and dancing chorus.

If I have one small criticism it is that the excellent live band at times overwhelmed the singing voices and also the backing chorus was sometimes too loud so that it was difficult to hear the words of the songs.

However, overall a very enjoyable show. It’s on until Saturday 25 February at New Theatre, Oxford.

For tickets log on to www.atgtickets.com