Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

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

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Mitchell'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

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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

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Act 1: Alice's adventures in Wonderland

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  • "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

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  • "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

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The 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

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The 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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ ""I cannot remember any other motive…": the chronology of creating Wonderland". Contrariwise: the Blog. 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Adrian (2001). Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. London: Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-84002-256-8.
  4. ^ Lovett, Charles (Spring 2002). "Avon Calling". Knight Letter, Journal of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America. 68: 15 – via Archive.org.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Billington, Michael (15 November 2001). "Alice in Wonderland". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  7. ^ Jerram, Barrie (22 December 2010). "Alice In Wonderland, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester, Dec 21 until Jan 1". The Angus. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. ^ Express, Bailiwick. "REVIEW: A family-friendly fever dream". Bailiwick Express Jersey. Retrieved 2023-01-08.