{"id":878,"date":"2017-03-15T07:27:57","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T07:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/?p=878"},"modified":"2017-03-15T19:30:39","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T19:30:39","slug":"through-the-looking-glass-you-go-wonderland-churchill-theatre-bromley-13-03-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/?p=878","title":{"rendered":"‘Through the Looking Glass You Go…’ Wonderland, Churchill Theatre, Bromley. 13.03.2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"17264151_1490994394246196_698771431374234251_n\"<\/a>After being a week of being a part, it wasn’t long till I was back in Bromley and heading to the theatre once more! Tonight’s viewing would be the new Musical to the UK, Wonderland<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We took our seats based in Row L numbers 35 and 36, for this production our view was fine, with most of the performing based in the middle there was no restrictions to our view, and all could be seen throughout. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wonderland <\/span><\/span><\/em>is a modernised adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic <\/span>Alice in Wonderland <\/span><\/span><\/em>and <\/span>Through the Looking Glass. <\/span><\/span><\/em>Book written by Gregory Boyd, and Jack Murphy (UK adaption by Robert Hudson), and music and lyrics by Frank Wildhorn, and Jack Murphy. It tells the tale of Alice a mum who is a disillusioned but yet doesn’t know what to do or how to change. Living with her daughter Ellie, Alice receives help from her, and Jack (their neighbour) they all find themselves transported down an elevator shaft into the magical world, Wonderland. Within this land they meet a White Rabbit, March Hare, a Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter each with their own tales to tell. A Wonderland yes, but it is ruled by the Queen of Hearts a controlled, power driven women. It is up to Alice and her friends to try and save the day, and in doing so get them all home safely!\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"17212248_1869175260029164_952735244847202079_o\"<\/a>It was a brilliant take on Carroll’s story, with great meaning to be shared throughout. Always be true to yourself, and at times you need to\u00a0‘move forward’ to get there. \u00a0The use of the looking glass within the show, allowed the character to be who they really were, Jack\u00a0a knight in shining armour, Ellie – a\u00a0chance to speak her mind openly without worrying of hurting others (the truth can hurt) ‘a real teenager’,\u00a0Alice-\u00a0her true\u00a0self, not hung up on her manipulative ex, and they go on to\u00a0achieve what they didn’t think they could. It is something that the audience take away, and think what they would become if they too where to walk through – I know I certainly did.<\/p>\n

The setting was simple, yet colourful which brought life to Wonderland, it didn’t take away from the story and left a lot to the imagination, which for Alice in Wonderland<\/em> was perfect. The costume also were very modern, with the simple signs that the characters were animals such as the Cheshire Cat who\u00a0wore\u00a0Jeans, boots, had a tail, small ears,\u00a0and\u00a0a fur blue, black, and grey waistcoat. I particularly liked the dormouse that was represented by a bobble hat – with 2 bobbles to represent her mouse ears. It was very well presented for the modern tale.<\/p>\n

The Cast tonight were as follows –<\/p>\n

Alice – Kerry Ellis<\/p>\n

Ellie – Naomi Morris<\/p>\n

Jack – Stephen Webb<\/p>\n

White Rabbit – Dave Willetts<\/p>\n

Mat Hatter – Natalie Mcqueen<\/p>\n

Caterpiller – Kayi Ushe<\/p>\n

Cheshire Cat – Dominic Owen<\/p>\n

March Hare – Ben Kerr<\/p>\n

Dormouse – Divine Cresswell<\/p>\n

Humpty Dumpty – Bree Smith<\/p>\n

Tweedle Dum – Benjamin McMillian<\/p>\n

Tweedle Dee- Benjamin Yates<\/p>\n

Queen of Hearts – Wendi Peters<\/p>\n

Cards\/Knights\/Caterpiiller\u00a0Legs\u00a0– Sharif Afifi, Francesca Lara Gordon,Phoebe May Newman, Toyan Thomas-Browne<\/p>\n

The\u00a0had seen two\u00a0actress before was Kerry Ellis, playing Alice, and Natalie McQueen playing Mad Hatter. I was very happy to see that Kerry would be performing Alice in Bromley as currently sharing the role with BGT finalist Rachel Wooding – so do check which Alice is playing at which venue, I’m sure you wont be disappointed with either \"16105483_1843825085897515_3395146034207311949_n\"<\/a>as Rachel is an amazing actress too! Kerry’s Alice was good, being a mother herself you could see her relationship with Ellie was true, and watched her change within the musical from the broken down ex wife, to the ‘nobody tells me what to do’ Lady, who goes on to\u00a0open up and lets others in. Her voice will always be so lovely to listen to, with such control each song she sings looks effortless. Natalie also again shows off her amazing talent and pipes, and it was great to see her\u00a0create a new role, which she did brilliantly. Her take on the Mad Hatter was spot on, and never broke character, with the slight face expressions and gestures to create the Mad yet entertainingly funny persona. Her duet with Kerry Ellis ‘This is Who I Am’ <\/em>was a highlight, and their voices blended so well, I could have listened to it all night.<\/p>\n

\"16194906_1848638795416144_7441441619186040999_n\"<\/a>Jack and Ellie, Alice’s two partners in crime played by Naomi Morris, and Stephen Webb. Both also great in their role, and Naomi the youngest in the cast shined above them all, with the classic teenager that all mothers can relate to – when she went through the looking glass that is. You watched her grow up to along with Alice in some ways, allowing her self to speak out for what was right. Stephen’s Jack also a vulnerable geek in the beginning who couldn’t express his feelings towards Alice, but when through the looking glass he turns into a handsome ‘boy band’ prince. A big transformation that Stephen took in his stride.<\/p>\n

The characters of Wonderland all had a part to play, and all worked well as a cast. For the chorus,\u00a0Tweedle\u00a0Dee, \"16142828_1846940438919313_8909613130930545744_n\"<\/a>and Tweedle Dum, with\u00a0the many roles they played, made it look easy, all looking like they were having a great time in Wonderland. The Cheshire Cat played by Dominic Owen was a favourite\u00a0who had the audience laughing at his silly ways, but then again he was ‘just a cat’ but not many cats can stand on their hands and continue to sing like it was nothing! Dave Willett’s White Rabbit, a star of the Theatre World was very sweet and kind in his role, that you just wanted to cuddle.\u00a0 His song ‘I am my Own Invention’ <\/em>also\u00a0was soft\u00a0to the ear with his warming voice. Wendi Peters known for her role in Corrie, defiantly showed her talent on stage, and not the usual soap to stage casting, she was perfect as the Queen of Hearts. Taking the role in her stride and the power it held, her voice also was strong, she really was made for the part.<\/p>\n

What I liked the most about this theatre trip, was the many children that came to watch. Following Rent <\/em>and Dirty Dancing <\/em>it was lovely to see a wide range of ages within the audience. I do recommend this musical for kids at the age of 8 and over, and it would be a great show to start their love of Theatre for sure! Mature, and creative it brings a story to life that everyone can reflect, but also have us laughing and smiling. I only can hope that a soundtrack recording is on the cards, because there are many songs in the score that I would love to hear again, especially by the UK cast!<\/p>\n

\"Alice\"<\/a>If you are looking for a great evening out then go and see this show,\u00a0I know it would be one that I would go and see again if it came back around. Playing at The Churchill<\/strong> until March 18th<\/strong> for tickets go here<\/a><\/strong>, it will then continue on his UK tour for further information go to the website here<\/a><\/strong>. It will not leave you disappointed!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tTweet<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After being a week of being a part, it wasn’t long till I was back in Bromley and heading to the theatre once more! Tonight’s viewing would be the new Musical to the UK, Wonderland. We took our seats based in Row L numbers 35 and 36, for this production our view was fine, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,19],"tags":[515,512,330,521,518,517,425,519,514,38,365,520,513,43,516,511],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=878"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":904,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions\/904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosereview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}