We are very lucky to have the fantastic Shakespeare North Playhouse just a short drive away and have enjoyed many of their varied productions since they opened. This wonderful creative hub, situated in Prescot, just outside Liverpool, never fails to surprise and delight, so my children (both 11) and I, were very excited to be some of the first to experience their show for Christmas 2024 – Alice in Wonderland.

In true Shakespeare in the North style, this is of course not your traditional Alice in Wonderland, but a sequel, where we meet an older Alice, who is now a harassed modern mum, with two kids and a Christmas to do list as big as the Cheshire Cat’s grin!   Whilst out shopping she spots a familiar white rabbit and before we know it, she has fallen back into Wonderland and needs to save it from the evil Duchess, making sure she is back with her kids for Christmas.

It’s a lively, funny show, packed with great characters, brilliant costumes and plenty of singing and dancing.  It’s not a pantomime in any traditional sense, but there’s lots of easy going audience participation and everyone there was very happy to join in. 

There are just 5 actors playing all the characters and the way they switch is seamless. We first meet four of them as playing cards and they all interact with each other beautifully. There were strong performances across the board, but my personal favourite was “card eight” played by the very talented Martha Godber, her portrayal of the Duchess was the perfect blend of evil and humour and she beautifully sang some great songs too.  The children emphatically loved “card two” the best, who when we saw it was played by the understudy Tia Larsen.  They instantly warmed to her jokes and characters and laughed out loud at her portrayal of the caterpillar.

The theatre is designed in the style of the Shakespeare Globe, so the show is in the round and the audience are seated at a variety of levels.  Don’t let this worry you – there are no bad seats!  The show is created so that everyone is immersed in what is going on, at times the Duchess and the Mad Hatter appeared in the audience on the upper level and clever set props are regularly used to provide different heights on the stage. There are also two fabulous dances using a suspended aerial hoop, which instantly put the performers at the eye level of those in the higher gallery.  This was choreographed by Wendy Hesketh Ogilvie from Wired Aerial Theatre and was a real treat that left the audience spell bound.

I won’t spoil it and let you know whether Alice manages to sort everything out and get back from Wonderland in time, but I will let you know that it was an excellent production and a very enjoyable experience!  So if you are looking for a theatrical treat this Christmas that appeals to the whole family, I would thoroughly recommend it.  It is on from now until Saturday 11^th January and tickets are available at shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk   Thank you to the whole cast and production team – it was a great way to kick off Christmas!