By James Lewis, SciTech Deputy Editor
It’s Alice in Wonderland – but not. Consciously not, in fact. There’s no idyllic Victorian English countryside in Alice by Heart – originally written by Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson in 2012 – no no, this is London in its darkest moment, The Blitz. We meet the characters during an air-raid, seeking shelter in a Tube station. Our Alice (Marcia MacSween) is joined by the rest of the cast on stage, who all take multiple roles throughout, and there’s Alfred (Cooper Brown), Alice’s best friend. Poor Alfred though; he’s got TB, he’s deathly sick the poor bugger.
The musical is staged in the Loco Klub. Beth Nugent, the director, said this was the ‘main draw’ to stage the musical in the first place. For those of you who don’t know, the Loco Klub is under Temple Meads in a series of tunnels – tunnels, Tube? You get it. The atmosphere was there – damp club smell, brick walls adorned with old-timey blitz posters reading ‘Look out after Blackout’ did make it feel like I was missing my ration book.
The play is a winding reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, where our Alice finds herself also falling down a hole – although what holes there are in a Tube station remains to be seen – and is transported into Wonderland where the characters of London transform into familiar favourites including the Queen of Hearts (Grace Shropshire), the Mad Hatter (Stan Abbott) and the Cheshire Cat (Honey Gawn-Hopkins). We were treated to not one, but two (!) Caterpillars (Phoebe Taylor and Sophie Lee), who really ought to let the rest of us know what they’re puffing on. Alice is Alice and Alfred becomes the White Rabbit. The musical flicks through the original book, adapting and skipping parts as it sees fit while Alice comes to terms with the impending loss of her beloved, Alfred.
The lighting was tremendous and made the transition from the real to the magical convincing. A brighter, white light gives way to hues of red and blue that indicate our descent, with Alice, into Wonderland.
The acting was neat and believable, doing a great job at holding a heavy tone during the serious moments; the musical really does get dark in moments, dealing with a heavy subject matter. And the cast did an especially good job in the light moments. I must admit, audible chortles were emitted. A special mention must go to the Duchess (Finley Carty-Howe) who carried the flamboyancy in the most stylish (or style-less, I don’t know) way.
But my god can some people sing. Seriously, I was taken aback by the quality that was on show. Nugent told Epigram that she wanted to stage the show because ‘everyone on stage gets a solo moment’ and damn it I’m glad. Brown was a highlight for me, but the whole cast deserve my plaudits.
The choreography too was professional. A number of feats of strength and acrobatics had me biting my nails, convinced it would all go wrong, but they kept on going.
Oh and the band... the band, the band. They were fantastic – as any musical’s band should be. But you know what would have made them better – if you could have actually seen them. They were shoved to the side, not even in the same room, their notes only heard through speakers by the stage – but alas, the woes of tunnels. I digress – they were excellent and the show literally could not have gone on without them. A long set list and not a note out of place – wonderful.
And they all, cast and band, looked fabulous too. The Wonderland wardrobe was as colourful and imaginative as you would expect. I especially enjoyed the endless packs of cards sacrificed for the Queen and King of Diamonds (Will Cruddas). The wardrobe for war-time London was charmingly clichéd, but spot-on for this production – lots of beige, knitwear and pinstripe shirts. The more creative costumes brought the characters to life. The Queen of Diamonds’ dress, the Duchess’ bedsheet-esque skirt and Alice’s iconic blue dress and matching white apron are all proudly on show.
The musical was weird, wacky, but nonetheless wonderful. I enjoyed it and encourage anyone to go and see it while they can. It’s always a pleasure to enjoy the great work students can do and their passion makes you wonder: why are theatre kids at the brunt of so many jokes?
Alice by Heart is on at the Loco Klub until Saturday March 15. You can get your tickets here.
Featured Image: Isabel Hay
