Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass is a 2001 stage adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass. It was written by Adrian Mitchell.[1] A 2 hour adaptation of both of Carroll's novels, it holds the distinction for currently being the most comprehensive stage adaptation of the books yet made, with the endings of both novels intact and only minor changes made for theatrical staging reasons.
Play inception
editMitchell's adaptation originated as a commission from the Royal Shakespeare Company. In his version, Mitchell uses a fictionalized version of the biographically famous "Golden Afternoon" on the 4th of July 1862, when Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) first told the stories that would become the Alice novels to his friend Canon Robinson Duckworth and the Liddell children, Alice, Lorina, and Edith. Dodgson wrote the stories down, and much later, presented the manuscript of Alice's adventures Underground to Alice Liddell in November 1864.[2][3][4]
Main characters and cast members
edit| Character | 2001 Royal Shakespeare Company cast[5] |
|---|---|
| Alice Liddell / "Alice" | Katherine Heath |
| Dodgson/ "Dodo" / "The White Knight" | Daniel Flynn |
| Duckworth/"Duck"/ "The Red Knight" | Jamie de Courcey |
| Lorina Liddell/ "Lory" | Rosalie Craig |
| Edith Liddell/ "Eaglet" | Laura Main |
| The White Rabbit | Richard Henders |
| Unseen Voice | Flora Dunn |
| Voice of Cake | Paul Leonard |
| Voice of Bottle | Sarah Redmond |
| Voice of Crocodile | Flora Dunn |
| Mouse | Adam Sims |
| Magpie | Sarah Quist |
| Canary | Flora Dunn |
| Caterpillar | John Conroy |
| Father William | Robert Horwell |
| Youth | Jamie Golding |
| Fish Footman | Christopher Key |
| Frog Footman | Paul Kissaun |
| Baby Voice | Sarah Quist |
| Duchess | Robert Horwell |
| Cook | Flora Dunn |
| Cheshire Cat | Sarah Redmond |
| Mad Hatter / Hatta | Chris Larner |
| March Hare / Haigha | Martin Turner |
| Dormouse | Marilyn Cutts |
| The Queen of Hearts / The Red Queen | Liza Sadovy |
| The Knave of Hearts | Dominic Marsh |
| King of Hearts | John Hodgkinson |
| Ace of Clubs (first soldier) | John Conroy |
| Gryphon | Martyn Elis |
| Mock Turtle | Paul Leonard |
| Tiger-Lily | Sarah Redmond |
| Goat | Mitchell Moreno |
| Railway Guard | John Hodgkinson |
| Man in White Paper | Paul Leonard |
| Beetle | Mark McLean |
| Horse | Paul Kissaun |
| Faun | Dominic Marsh |
| Tweedle-Dum | Jamie Golding |
| Tweedle-Dee | Adam Sims |
| Walrus | Robert Horwell |
| Carpenter | Chris Larner |
| Red King | Paul Leonard |
| White Queen / Sheep | Marilyn Cutts |
| Humpty Dumpty | Martyn Elis |
| White King | John Conroy |
| Lion | Mark Maclean |
| Unicorn | John Hodgkinson |
| Aged, Aged Man | Martin Turner |
Musical numbers
editAct 1: Alice's adventures in Wonderland
edit- "Golden afternoon" - Dodgson, Duckworth, Alice Liddell, Lorina Liddell, Edith Liddell and Company
- "Down, Down, Down" - Company
- "How Doth the Little Crocodile..." - Alice, Crocodile Voice
- "Fury Said to a Mouse..." - Mouse and Company
- "You are Old Father William...." - Father William, Youth
- "Wow! Wow! Wow!" - Duchess, Cook, Baby, Cheshire Cat and Company
- "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat" - Hatter
- "The Lobster Quadrille" - Mock Turtle, Gryphon and Company
- "Beautiful Soup" - Mock Turtle, Gryphon and Company
- "The Queen of Hearts..." - White Rabbit
- "They told me you had been to her..." - White Rabbit
Act 2: Through the Looking-Glass
edit- "Moonlight on the Mirror" - Alice and Company
- "The Jabberwocky" - Alice, Father, Youth and Company
- "Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee..." - Alice and Company
- "The Walrus and the Carpenter" - Tweedle-Dum, Tweedle-Dee, Walrus, Carpenter and Company
- "Humpty Dumpty..." - Alice
- "In Winter when the fields are White..." - Humpty Dumpty
- "The Lion and the Unicorn..." - Company
- "Haddocks Eyes (A-sitting on a Gate)" - White Knight, Aged Aged Man
- "Welcome Queen Alice" - White Rabbit and Company
- "Hushaby Lady" - Red Queen, White Queen, Alice
- "Golden Afternoon (Reprise) - Dodgson, Duckworth, Alice Liddell, Lorina Liddell, Edith Liddell and Company
Critical reception
editThe review in The Independent called the original 2001 Royal Shakespeare Company production "a magic-free tundra of non-idiosyncrasy" and its Alice, played by Katherine Heath, "charmless".[1] The Guardian thought it faithful to Carroll's text, but called it a game of two halves, Wonderland working well enough, but that Looking-Glass went "off the boil."[6]
Revivals
editThe play received a significant revival at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2010 by the Youth Theatre. This revival, unlike its premiere, received more positive reviews, the Angus noting Emily Dyble's "delightful" performance as Alice.[7] The 2022 revival by ARTComedia and Jersey Arts centre also received a positive response, with the Bailwick Express Jersey observing "The sheer scale of the madness played out over the two hours beggars any kind of coherent description, as it should."[8]
References
edit- ^ a b Taylor, Paul (15 November 2001). "Alice in Wonderland, RSC The Barbican, London". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2017-04-03. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ ""I cannot remember any other motive…": the chronology of creating Wonderland". Contrariwise: the Blog. 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
- ^ Mitchell, Adrian (2001). Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. London: Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-84002-256-8.
- ^ Lovett, Charles (Spring 2002). "Avon Calling". Knight Letter, Journal of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America. 68: 15 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Mitchell, Adrian; Carroll, Lewis (2001). Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (2013 ed.). London, UK: Oberon Books Ltd. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-1-84002-256-8.
- ^ Billington, Michael (15 November 2001). "Alice in Wonderland". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ Jerram, Barrie (22 December 2010). "Alice In Wonderland, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester, Dec 21 until Jan 1". The Angus. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ Express, Bailiwick. "REVIEW: A family-friendly fever dream". Bailiwick Express Jersey. Retrieved 2023-01-08.