Giles Woodforde takes a look at a new version of Alice in Wonderland at the Playhouse

Nothing has put Oxford on the international literary map more decisively than Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – not even the Oxford English Dictionary or Morse.

Originally a story told by Christ Church mathematics don Charles Dodgson (Carroll’s real name) to Alice Liddell and her siblings, the book celebrates the 150th anniversary of its first publication this year.

The anniversary makes Alice a natural choice for this year’s centrepiece MCS (Magdalen College School) Arts Festival production at the Oxford Playhouse. But how do Carroll’s characters go down with 21st century youngsters?

“I think she’s a very independent young girl,” says MCS student Rebekah Nash, 17, right, who plays Alice. “She has chosen to go down the rabbit hole, which is quite a bold move – although she does come to regret it quite a lot! On the other hand, she really enjoys her time in Wonderland, and doesn’t want to go back to her normal life, being told what to do.”

At this point, I notice something distinctly creepy. The clock on a nearby MCS staff room wall is whirling round at manic speed. Then it stops dead. Odd indeed, for in the Wonderland story, time has been upset ever since the Queen of Hearts said the Mad Hatter was “murdering time” when he performed a song badly. Since then, the time has stayed fixed at six o’clock. So it’s obviously the right moment to speak to Bertie McIntosh, 17, who is playing the Hatter.

“I’ve been trying not to go completely off the wall, which is a very tempting thing to do,” he laughs. “With the help of our director, I’ve been trying to channel a little bit of academic genius into the character – after all Lewis Carroll was an academic. As to how much of myself I’ve put into the character, I’d argue that I’m reasonably sane, but I have a feeling that nobody else would agree with that view!”

Dan Blick, also 17, has been cast as the Queen of Hearts, so for him it’s a cross-dressing role. “It’s just the same as playing a rabbit,” he says. “I have to adapt my body language, adopt different poses and change the way I walk. I hope it’ll take some time for audiences to work out whether I am actually a man or a woman. There’s something psychopathic involved in the role too – especially in the later scenes.”

RSC associate artist Joanne Pearce has prepared a new adaptation of Alice for the MCS production and she’s also directing the show.

“The story is like a series of cabaret turns,” she explains. “That emerged when we did the first read through. Alice is the only person who links the scenes together. So the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle, for instance, do their turns and you never see them again. It’s all very fast moving and like a music hall performance.

“I’ve included characters from Through the Looking-Glass as well, which I think is a more interesting book, and from other Carroll works. I’ve read everything in print that I could lay my hands on – his treatises on maths were a struggle though!”

As for the setting, Joanne says: “We wanted our wonderland to be an explosion of colour, and to reflect the Victorians’ fascination with anything oriental and exotic. But there’s homage paid to Christ Church too. We’ve included the croquet lawn, and the Queen’s Court is Christ Church, but with a Chinese slant.”

WHERE & WHEN
Alice in Wonderland is at the Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, from July 2-4.
Call 01865 305305 or go to oxfordplayhouse.com