Written in 1865, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – or Alice in Wonderland as it is frequently now known – remains a much-loved children's story. It serves as a fantastic example of the literary nonsense genre, following Alice as she falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy land full of anthropomorphic creatures. Its release bought an end to the previous didactic nature of children's Victorian literature, encouraging a response of delight and entertainment.
It came to the stage in 1886, with much input from Carroll himself. Since then, it has continued to be a popular choice for youth groups and school productions. Today, there are multiple versions and interpretations of the script giving companies plenty of choice for the type of ‘Alice,’ they wish to stage. The story offers options for large casts, with plenty of scope for invention and creativity.
Characters and roles
Most classic versions of Alice in Wonderland have an extensive cast list, which appeals to school groups. They are perhaps best separated into human and nonhuman characters.
The main part is Alice, who spends little-to-no time off-stage. Her interactions through the story introduce us to the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the Duchess and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Accompanying these characters are a whole array of creatures, from the Caterpillar, the White Rabbit, the March Hare and the Dormouse to name but a few.
All characterisations are larger-than-life and add real colour to the story. Many, if not all, characters have a leading personality trait, which guides how the character is to be played. This allows younger performers to access these roles, while older pupils can explore the deeper psychology.
Themes and ideas
Taken at face value this is a simple, but absurd tale. However, scratching the surface reveals some deeper themes and ideas contained within the story. Just thinking about the number of physical changes that Alice goes through could be seen as a representation of losing her childhood innocence and metaphorically growing up. Carroll includes a number of puzzles for Alice to solve with seemingly little solution. Could this be a nod to the frustrations of life? Ultimately, Alice is a character who struggles with the expectations and constraints placed on her, so perhaps the underlaying theme of the story is about a voyage of self-discovery and identity.
Style and interpretation
Alice in Wonderland is fantastical in style. However, choosing which version of the text to stage is something to consider, as there will be differences between them. These are just some of the options available:
- Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass adapted by Adrian Mitchell: This version offers two plays for the price of one. Act One follows Alice through wonderland while Act Two moves into the Looking Glass story. It is very true to the original text. Bringing the two stories together in one play caters for a large cast. There is also the potential to just perform Act One as a stand-alone play.
- Alice in Wonderland adapted by Andrew Biliter: The role of Alice is a large part to play and in this version, Alice is split between three actors. This is great for both sharing acting opportunities but also for adding impact to the theme of identity as Alice wonders aloud to herself if she is still her.
- Alice by Laura Wade: The Alice in this re-working of the story is a traumatised 12-year-old, whose older brother has recently been killed in a traffic accident. As her mother deals with her own grief, she is unable to provide Alice with the support she needs and so she escapes from her bedroom into wonderland on a journey to deal with her loss.
There are so many other versions available and it is worth looking around before making a final decision on which one best suits you and your pupils.
Production options
This is a work that comprises many, fast-changing scenes – and so considering which staging type to use may offer some creative solutions on how to keep the pace of the performance.
I staged Adrian Mitchell's version a number of years ago and chose to do the first half as a promenade performance with the second half in our main performance space. This allowed me to have different areas for different scenes; I also had multiple Alices to guide the audience around the space.
With stage action including character size change, falling down rabbit holes and croquet with flamingos, there are plenty of creative conundrums to spark both yours and your pupils' imaginations.