Alice in Wonderland
Reviews
Every Christmas, Bexley Grammar School’s drama department comes alive with preparations for the school play, and this year has been no exception. From September, the cast of 50 have been pouring countless hours (including two Saturdays!) into this lively, modern twist on the children’s classic, Alice in Wonderland.
With two Mad Hatters, a Cheshire cat puppet controlled by 7 students, and a caterpillar made by 5 dancers, the energy on stage was buzzing throughout. The play was brought alive by how much fun the cast and crew had throughout rehearsals and the performances themselves. I can safely say this has been the most ambitious Christmas performance the school has had. Backed by the creative and wonderful direction of Mrs Dawson, the play uses shadow performance and projection, physical theatre lifts, dances, a brilliant soundtrack- including Bob Marley - and a lot of enthusiasm! With the play finishing on a touching scene between the White Rabbit and Alice, the actors displayed their control and talent, making the scene convincing enough that some tears were shed from the audience!
As with every school production, the highlight of the process is the unity that it delivers between the students. With a cast of mainly KS3 students acting alongside the Year 12s in principal roles, all the cast have formed a unit. This unit has been backed with the indispensable backstage help of the Year 13 drama prefects; we have managed stage, directed scenes, and created countless props, staging and costume, whilst becoming part of the ‘Alice’ unit and getting to know the cast. None of this, of course, could have been possible without the constant support of the Drama and English teachers.
The play can be summarised by these words, written (unprompted) by the ex-deputy head at BGS, Mr Handscombe, who came to our Wednesday performance:
“It was brilliant - utterly brilliant …
I think most impressively, the climax brought us from hilarity, nonsense and fantasy into an amazingly emotional and touching scene of homely love and hope - a feat that reflects powerfully on both the cast and the direction.”
Emily Wilcox, Year 13 Drama prefect.
Floating cats, crazy tea parties and jam tarts with far too much pepper can only mean one thing... Alice in Wonderland. This week the school held their version of the slightly wacky Lewis Carroll classic and used the mad characters to tell the story of a young girl experiencing grief after her brother's death and the path (of dancing toadstools) she takes to pick herself up.
From the miracle workers backstage to the stars of the show, everyone was incredible; the hysterical Mad Hatters, played by Paddy Crowley and Conor Coakley the temperamental Queen of Hearts, played by Vicky Chivers, the jittery White Rabbit, played by James Green and the curiouser and curiouser Alice, played by Louisa Dodd and Bethany Webster. A mention must also go out to the people that have spent the last term tearing their hair out over every last scene, namely Mrs Dawson, Miss Gabriel, Mr Otley and Emily Roach, who couldn't have done a better job taming the wild animals we call students.
The clever twist to the well-known story brought a sorrowful yet moving message that left even the most emotionally strong people in the audience wiping away an escaped tear, and the humour in it had me in stitches. After yet another fantastic and professional performance by the school, I look forward to purchasing my ticket for the next. Ellie Barnes – Year 10
Every Christmas, Bexley Grammar School’s drama department comes alive with preparations for the school play, and this year has been no exception. From September, the cast of 50 have been pouring countless hours (including two Saturdays!) into this lively, modern twist on the children’s classic, Alice in Wonderland.
With two Mad Hatters, a Cheshire cat puppet controlled by 7 students, and a caterpillar made by 5 dancers, the energy on stage was buzzing throughout. The play was brought alive by how much fun the cast and crew had throughout rehearsals and the performances themselves. I can safely say this has been the most ambitious Christmas performance the school has had. Backed by the creative and wonderful direction of Mrs Dawson, the play uses shadow performance and projection, physical theatre lifts, dances, a brilliant soundtrack- including Bob Marley - and a lot of enthusiasm! With the play finishing on a touching scene between the White Rabbit and Alice, the actors displayed their control and talent, making the scene convincing enough that some tears were shed from the audience!
As with every school production, the highlight of the process is the unity that it delivers between the students. With a cast of mainly KS3 students acting alongside the Year 12s in principal roles, all the cast have formed a unit. This unit has been backed with the indispensable backstage help of the Year 13 drama prefects; we have managed stage, directed scenes, and created countless props, staging and costume, whilst becoming part of the ‘Alice’ unit and getting to know the cast. None of this, of course, could have been possible without the constant support of the Drama and English teachers.
The play can be summarised by these words, written (unprompted) by the ex-deputy head at BGS, Mr Handscombe, who came to our Wednesday performance:
“It was brilliant - utterly brilliant …
I think most impressively, the climax brought us from hilarity, nonsense and fantasy into an amazingly emotional and touching scene of homely love and hope - a feat that reflects powerfully on both the cast and the direction.”
Emily Wilcox, Year 13 Drama prefect.
Floating cats, crazy tea parties and jam tarts with far too much pepper can only mean one thing... Alice in Wonderland. This week the school held their version of the slightly wacky Lewis Carroll classic and used the mad characters to tell the story of a young girl experiencing grief after her brother's death and the path (of dancing toadstools) she takes to pick herself up.
From the miracle workers backstage to the stars of the show, everyone was incredible; the hysterical Mad Hatters, played by Paddy Crowley and Conor Coakley the temperamental Queen of Hearts, played by Vicky Chivers, the jittery White Rabbit, played by James Green and the curiouser and curiouser Alice, played by Louisa Dodd and Bethany Webster. A mention must also go out to the people that have spent the last term tearing their hair out over every last scene, namely Mrs Dawson, Miss Gabriel, Mr Otley and Emily Roach, who couldn't have done a better job taming the wild animals we call students.
The clever twist to the well-known story brought a sorrowful yet moving message that left even the most emotionally strong people in the audience wiping away an escaped tear, and the humour in it had me in stitches. After yet another fantastic and professional performance by the school, I look forward to purchasing my ticket for the next. Ellie Barnes – Year 10
Alice goes down the Rabbit Hole...
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Script! Rehearsal Schedule! Plan! Excitement!
| SCRIPT Alice In Wonderland |
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The script, character list, rehearsal schedule and plan for how scenes will be executed (by beheading obviously!) are all here- click, download, enjoy!
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