Alice In Wonderland At The New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-Under-Lyme Review

Reviewed by Lindsay Burton

Arriving at the New Vic, we were super excited to find that it was a circular venue. I have never actually watched a theatre show in a round venue, but my 9 year old daughter (without missing a beat) said that it was like the circus. The theatre isn’t very big but we absolutely loved the whole evening in its entirety. The show started and we were whisked away to revisit the greatest children’s story of all time. With some adaptations to the traditional tale, the New Vic is hosting this special production this Christmas so make sure to join the jovial spirit and take a trip to Wonderland!

The tale starts with being introduced to Alice (Eleanor Fransch) and her parents while on their boat (and home), she soon meets some interesting and strange characters and her adventure takes off as she follows the White Rabbit (Peter Watts) into a curiously enchanting new world, filled with even curioser characters.

Looking for a way home, Alice comes across many different weird and wonderful characters: a fast moving disappearing cat with a grin wider than she’s ever seen, a Mad Hatter (Danielle Bird) with a crazy tea party that never actually starts and a bloodthirsty Queen (Purvi Parma) who is looking for her jam tarts and a White Queen (Victoria Brazier) coming to Alice’s rescue…

Tweedledum (Jimmy Chambers) and Tweedledee (Angelina Vhudi) were especially strange bordering a little scary. Adding to the weirdness of wonderland, both these actors are super talented and versatile in their acting skills!
I was slightly concerned that my daughter wouldn’t enjoy it as even though there was a nod to the traditional tale, it was in fact very different to my expectations. To my surprise, my daughter absolutely loved it! She loved the White Rabbit and it’s accompanying “bunny bouncing musicians” as she called them. With very talented musicians on the stage (I’m sure I spotted a few playing various instruments) and a stage setup that left absolutely no room for error, this cast presented a a superb show of very high quality. Together with some great puppetry and awesome illusions, we were very much impressed with the entire production.

Huge shout out to all characters for their singing and dancing. Beverley Norris-Edmunds’ choreography was so very well planned and executed! Laura Willstead’s set design together with Lis Evans’ costume designs greatly contribute to the success of this production! Darren Lang’s illusions and Paschale Straiton’s puppetry brought a different dimension to theatre which only increases the sheer brilliance of theatre as we know it.

Rating: We rate this show as 4/5 and it was all in all a great evening.

The theatre is easily located and with parking on the property for £1.50, it made the evening so easy and relaxed. With Christmas just around the corner, now is the time to book some tickets for a family friendly show that should not be missed! Ticket information can be located on the website and ticket prices start from £22 (discounted tickets for schools are available). Tickets can be purchased from https://www.newvictheatre.org.uk/productions/alice-in-wonderland/#modal1