ReaderRecommended Lookinglass Alice from gglasstheatre actorsgymnasium: 'The familiar story becomes electric when slapstick and physical theater overlap with puns—and mouth-dropping stunts add a hint of danger or else a smack of metaphor.' | kimzyn
Inside the tidy, rule-driven universe of a chess board, seven-year-old Alice stumbles upon the inexplicable and absurd rules of a new world. Every fledgling chess player will empathize as Alice is met with surprise after surprise in this lively production ofafter a seven-year hiatus).
Alice, as you may recall, likes to stomp her foot at each absurd notion that challenges her understanding of order, and yet herself wishes for the impossible—to achieve the status of queenhood and escape the random mayhem of life as a pawn. But first she must cross the chess board and avoid defeat, helped along by the other pieces. There is a familiar lesson for young Alice there; work hard, follow the rules, and you too will get ahead one day .
For the audience, the familiar story becomes electric when slapstick and physical theater overlap with puns—and mouth-dropping stunts add a hint of danger or else a smack of metaphor. Performers slide down poles and swing from ropes, pose riddles and implore the audience to sing along to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat,” or to join a tea party that goes horribly wrong because time has stopped functioning properly.
Seamless light and sound design and several gasp-inducing scenic surprises support the antics of the performers, most of whom play more than one role and are versed in multiple circus disciplines. In addition to Adeoye’s Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit especially keep the pace rollicking, popping up from holes in the floor, dancing on chairs, and melding acrobatics, unicycle, and juggling into their plots, all the while keeping the audience in stitches.
Adapter-director David Catlin and artistic director Heidi Stillman have reimagined a classic at a time when many of us are still reeling from rapid changes in the modern world, and though its a temporary balm, thankfully our protagonist Alice still demonstrates how to see past her own reflection in the mirror, past the noise and nonsense, to a world where curiosity and play can solve any riddles.Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription.