Kayla Walsh
Last Wednesday saw me and my battered A4 notebook taking a trip to see Alice’s Adventures Underground in the Players’ theatre. Being a big fan of Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, I was intrigued by the idea of the show. Essentially, we are presented with an amalgamation of the two classic stories, along with interactions between Lewis Carroll and the endearingly innocent protagonist. We follow Alice as she journeys through Wonderland, meeting up with weird-but-wonderful characters and engaging in nonsensical conversations along the way.
The diverse cast in action
The seating was arranged in a theatre-in-the-round style, with the audience surrounding the stage area on three sides. I really enjoyed the set-up, as it meant that more of us could be close to the action, and feel more involved in the show. I thought this also made it more interesting and realistic to watch, despite the fact that the actors inevitably had their backs to me a lot of the time. It was clear that an admirable effort had been put into the quaint sitting-room set, though the placement of some of the onstage furniture seemed a little haphazard.
The play began with the talented Andrew Oakes bounding onstage and announcing that there was an “Eat Me” cake hidden underneath each of our chairs. Delighted, my fellow theatre-goers and I bent over to retrieve our treats…only to discover that it had all been a vicious lie! I felt hurt and betrayed. Of all the plays I’ve attended over the last year, this one had the most disappointing start.
However, the play soon redeemed itself in my eyes. It kicked into gear with the entrance of more whimsical and flamboyant characters, played by a truly wonderful cast. Helen Cusack was simply adorable as Alice, although when she ate from the side of the mushroom that caused her to shrink, I doubted that it was possible for her to get any smaller (just kidding, Helen. I know what it’s like to be vertically challenged in this world of giants!). Elizabeth Parker was particularly hilarious as the absurd Frog, while Andrew Thornbury had us all giggling as the Cook, with his stunningly powerful rendition of “Beautiful Soup”. Patrick Culhane made us all suspicious with his surprisingly convincing Duchess (who knew he could look so good in a backless dress?). Though there were the usual few incidents of actors talking over each other, the acting was very impressive, almost flawless.
"...the acting was very impressive, almost flawless."
Another thing I enjoyed was the way in which the staging involved different levels, with characters lying down or standing on steps at various points in the play. The use of disco lights was also fun and different! Some of the costumes (like that of the Frog) were great, however, I could see that there was a lack of thought put into some of them. For example, the character of the Mouse sported what seemed to be a transparent bin-liner. I mean, come on! I paid a whole €2 to see this, where are the elaborate animal suits?
Sometimes Alice’s Adventures Underground was a bit hard to follow, but I won’t bad-mouth it as a result of that. It may have lost some of its coherency as a result of being condensed into a one-hour show, and I do have a sadly short attention span. Overall, I enjoyed this bizarre and humorous show. Three cheers for the evidently gifted cast and director!
…Now, how about that “Eat Me” cake?
3.8/5
