Tag Archives: Helen Murray

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

★★★★★

Brixton House

Reviews, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ALICE IN WONDERLAND at Brixton House

★★★★★

“a breath-taking instant classic for the London festive season”

What is at the end of the Victoria line? Rap battles and the Jabberwocky.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a classic book beloved by children and adults alike. Finding a first edition copy is as rare as finding chicken teeth. Finding yet another stage adaptation that actually feels new and exciting proves more challenging. What Poltergeist and writer-director Jack Bradfield have achieved with this unapologetic adaptation is jaw dropping. Alice in Wonderland is one and a half hours of boundary-busting theatre made by Londoners for Londoners. This iteration of the well-known story is so perfect in concept and execution that it makes you wonder why it hasn’t been done before.

Set in current day Brixton, 11-year-old Alice (Tatenda Matsvai) has a fight with her mum (Cheyenne Dasri) in Brixton tube station and jumps onto the Victoria line by herself. This sets off a tube journey into the world of nonsense where Alice realises that she is trapped on a train with the inhabitants of Wonderland. We meet familiar characters such as the White Rabbit, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and many more. In addition, we also meet people who Londoners will recognise instantly. This includes the commuters, ‘undergounders’ who have been on the tube for so long that they have lost their souls. The cast do an astounding job multi-rolling; their transitions are so smooth that you might only notice they are playing multiple roles in the second act. A standout here is Gavin Dunn who impressively alters his voice and physicality between playing The Rabbit, The Pigeon and Hammersmith (Yes, like the tube station – you need to see it to believe it).

Lyricist and Rapperturg, Gerel Falconer has created songs with composer and sound designer Alice Boyd that breathes new life into the familiar story, making space for this iteration to distinguish its own language. The audience is treated to rap solos and rap battles between characters, reminding us that London is a cultural wonderland. The composition of the sounds of Brixton and the underground are so clean that you can eat your dinner from it. A total treat for the ears! (Not only bunny ears).

‘Overgounder’ Alice travels down a rabbit hole of bottomless London Underground puns and immersive set design (Shankho Chaudhuri). You enter the theatre, and you are met by a recreation of a Victoria line carriage. The benches are covered in Victoria line fabric and the wall boasts posters like ‘The Jabberwocky is watching‘ and ‘See it, slay it, sorted’, immediately enforcing the idea that this is no ordinary tube line. The stage has a catwalk layout with the audience on either side. An entrance and exit on either end of the catwalk creates the illusion that the train has no beginning or an end. It is from these boundless tunnels that new and familiar characters emerge, creating expectation for what else is to come. It is impressive how well the set design is integrated into the script with trap doors that lead to the ominous wasteland ‘The Gap’ and lowering light rigs that become the tops of train carriages. The composition between lights, sound and set within the story is so clever and funny that you only need to sit back and enjoy this feast of a performance.

How will Alice ever escape the tube in time for Christmas? With rap battles, sword fights and dance breaks, Alice in Wonderland is a breath-taking instant classic for the London festive season. I wish more London theatre makers could embrace ridiculous ideas and execute them as flawlessly as this. All aboard for this highly imaginative, hilarious, and exhilarating tube journey down the Brixton rabbit hole!


ALICE IN WONDERLAND at Brixton House

Reviewed on 26th November 2024

by Lara van Huyssteen

Photography by Helen Murray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More reviews by Lara:

THE SNOWMAN | ★★★★ | PEACOCK THEATRE | November 2024
GOING FOR GOLD | ★★★★ | PARK THEATRE | November 2024

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

 

KING TROLL (THE FAWN)

★★★★★

New Diorama Theatre

Reviews, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

KING TROLL (THE FAWN) at the New Diorama Theatre

★★★★★

“brilliant, vital and fresh”

As an art form theatre is rarely truly frightening. Often a show will be disquieting, or sinister, but as King Troll began, I was confronted with the unusual sensation of fear. From the initial shock factor of flashing floodlights, the play unravels into something complex and disconcerting. It is thought provoking and moving and is horror at its best.

Two sisters, Nikita and Riya, are struggling to find enough documentation to ensure Riya’s resident status on ‘the island’. Nikita is the provider, the older sister and the expert on what is needed. She works for a refugee charity. Riya is the lost little sister. The ‘albatross’ around Nikita’s neck. In desperation they contact a reclusive friend of their mother’s, who gives them a magical gift which will change their lives – The ability to build a man, a man who will dote on them, or ‘a fawn’. But as with all magically made creatures, he is more than they could ever predict.

Sonali Bhattacharyya’s script is peculiar and beautifully written. The sisters are hilarious and their bond feels so real. The magic is delightfully sinister and the commentary on migrants’ rights is vital and potent. The idea of creating this white man, who will fawn on the sisters, is the perfect vehicle to demonstrate the injustice of the system. In one moment, The Fawn echoes everything that Nikita says, but he is believed where she was ignored. Marrying the abstract fear of the Home Office’s racist laws and the tangible fear of this Frankenstein’s Monster is a clever and unusual take.

Milli Bhatia’s direction shines in the moments of physicality. One particular moment of violence turns to tenderness in a cleverly crafted exploration of power. Each character is allowed light and shade and their own moment to be the star.

The cast are all phenomenal. Zainab Hasan and Safiyya Ingar carry the story as the two sisters. Both are angry and witty and strong pillars in a play which could feel disjointed. Diyar Bozkurt is heart-breaking as Tahir, Nikita’s undocumented friend, and his is the true heart of this play. However, the scene stealers are Ayesha Dharker and Dominic Holmes. Dharker bursts from the stage with comic and sinister oddness, both as the slick and casually cruel landlord and the wide-eyed recluse. Holmes’ eerie performance shines in his uncanny physicality as The Fawn, but he also deftly handles more naturalistic moments.

Rajha Shakiry’s set knits the different story strands together. Brutalist concrete columns connect barbed wire and piles of earth and sand, in the background of a cosy sitting room. The while tiled floor dirties with blood and mud, as these worlds collapse into one another.

XANA’s sound design complements the eerie atmosphere with voiceover and timely music. Elliot Griggs’ lighting is startling and disquieting, often flashing like a jarring floodlight, or providing the soft lamplight of the sisters’ flat.

This play will divide audiences, not down political lines but lines of weirdness. However, for many (myself included) it is brilliant, vital and fresh.

 


KING TROLL (THE FAWN) at the New Diorama Theatre

Reviewed on 8th October 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Helen Murray

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BRENDA’S GOT A BABY | ★★★ | November 2023
AFTER THE ACT | ★★★★★ | March 2023
PROJECT DICTATOR | ★★½ | April 2022

KING TROLL

KING TROLL

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page