Finding Alice

Reading Alice in bed, Miriam drops into a zany dreamland where a hatless Mad Hatter plays cricket on a rocking chair while a dormouse sings to her guitar accompanied by a smart-suited White Rabbit ("Mr W Rabbit, please!") on a saxophone.

For Ben Harrison’s post-modern Wonderland and Looking Glass (adapted by Jo Kennedy), performed with huge zest and great humour by the five-strong A Single Leaf cast, gives Lewis Carroll’s lovable characters surprising twists.

They dare not utter Alice’s name and fear a Queen of Hearts bent on destroying all books – especially those two. Yet the tea party must go on, and dreaded Jabberwocky must be defeated, (a splendid mini epic). But where is Alice, or is Miriam the new Alice, or will she find the real one? On her surreal journey she meets London schoolkids Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, ever-complaining Humpty Dumpty and black-booted, brassy Queen of Hearts, who unleashes fearful havoc. Then real ‘Queen’ Alice finally sets all to rights, and young Miriam can return to her bedroom.

A Single Leaf deserves high praise for a splendid debut show which rollicks along, utterly delighting the audience. Thomas Coombes triumphs as the non-stop Mad Hatter, Lorna Shaw is a most endearing dormouse, Jo Kennedy a pantomimewicked Queen of Hearts, Minyahil Kifle-Giorgis a jazzy White Rabbit and Sara Marie Bradley a winsome little girl lost Miriam. Quick-paced movement, quality costumes and crazy songs boost the appeal, and Jessica Swale’s direction never fails. This is a must family show!