LEWIS Carroll’s surreal fantasy worlds have been envisioned countless times on both stage and screen.
But despite recent attempts to immerse viewers in Alice’s madcap adventures through gimmicks such as 3D, travelling to Wonderland has remained an impossible dream. That is, until now.
The innovative and site-specific theatre company Teatro Vivo invite the audience to go through the looking glass and tumble down the rabbit hole into Wonderland – without ever having to leave Lee’s suitably atmospheric Grade II listed Manor House Library.
For those familiar with the group’s previous productions Supermarket Shakespeare and Hothouse, you’ll know what to expect. For Teatro Vivo virgins, hold on to your head and expect the unexpected.
Guided through the brilliantly insane topsy-turvy world by a succession of characters from Carroll’s book, the audience are not just passive observers in the story but are an integral part of the adventure themselves.
The story itself about an organised resistance against the tyrannical Queen of Hearts is rather loose and the emphasis is on audience participation rather than plot.
There are some wonderfully imaginative scenes where it is possible to forget for a moment that you are actually wandering through the library’s early learning section or reception.
The Queen’s croquet match is a hoot, as is the Mad Hatter’s tea party, while Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee will have you rhyming nonsense for the rest of the evening.
However, at two hours long and on your feet almost the entire time, it’s an exhausting journey which sometimes fails to translate and leaves the audience scratching their heads and wondering what to do and where to go next.
Nevertheless, fans of Alice will be happy to spend time in Teatro Vivo’s vividly imagined world where it’s tea time any time of day and screaming babies are just well seasoned pigs after all.
Adventures in Wonderland. Manor House Library, Old Road, Lee. October 28 to October 31. Visit teatrovivo..co.uk
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