Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

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Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass is a 2001 stage adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , and the 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass. It was written by Adrian Mitchell. [1] A 2 hour adaptation of both of Carroll's novels, it holds the distinction for currently being the most comprehensive stage adaptation of the books yet made, with the endings of both novels intact and only minor changes made for theatrical staging reasons.

Contents

Play inception

Mitchell's adaptation originated as a commission from the Royal Shakespeare Company. In his version, Mitchell uses a fictionalized version of the biographically famous "Golden Afternoon" on the 4th of July 1862, when Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) first told the stories that would become the Alice novels to his friend Canon Robinson Duckworth and the Liddell children, Alice, Lorina, and Edith. Dodgson wrote the stories down, and much later, presented the manuscript of Alice's adventures Underground to Alice Liddell in November 1864. [2] [3] [4]

Main characters and cast members

Character2001 Royal Shakespeare Company cast [5]
Alice Liddell / "Alice"Katherine Heath
Dodgson/ "Dodo" / "The White Knight" Daniel Flynn
Duckworth/"Duck"/ "The Red Knight" Jamie de Courcey
Lorina Liddell/ "Lory" Rosalie Craig
Edith Liddell/ "Eaglet"Laura Main
The White Rabbit Richard Henders
Unseen VoiceFlora Dunn
Voice of CakePaul Leonard
Voice of BottleSarah Redmond
Voice of CrocodileFlora Dunn
MouseAdam Sims
MagpieSarah Quist
CanaryFlora Dunn
CaterpillarJohn Conroy
Father William Robert Horwell
YouthJamie Golding
Fish FootmanChristopher Key
Frog FootmanPaul Kissaun
Baby VoiceSarah Quist
Duchess Robert Horwell
CookFlora Dunn
Cheshire CatSarah Redmond
Mad Hatter / HattaChris Larner
March Hare / HaighaMartin Turner
DormouseMarilyn Cutts
The Queen of Hearts / The Red Queen Liza Sadovy
The Knave of Hearts Dominic Marsh
King of Hearts John Hodgkinson
Ace of Clubs(first soldier)John Conroy
GryphonMartyn Elis
Mock TurtlePaul Leonard
Tiger-LilySarah Redmond
GoatMitchell Moreno
Railway GuardJohn Hodgkinson
Man in White PaperPaul Leonard
BeetleMark McLean
HorsePaul Kissaun
Faun Dominic Marsh
Tweedle-DumJamie Golding
Tweedle-DeeAdam Sims
Walrus Robert Horwell
CarpenterChris Larner
Red KingPaul Leonard
White Queen / SheepMarilyn Cutts
Humpty DumptyMartyn Elis
White KingJohn Conroy
LionMark Maclean
UnicornJohn Hodgkinson
Aged, Aged ManMartin Turner

Musical numbers

Act 1: Alice's adventures in Wonderland

Act 2: Through the Looking-Glass

Critical reception

The review in The Independent called the original 2001 Royal Shakespeare Company production "a magic-free tundra of non-idiosyncrasy" and its Alice, played by Katherine Heath, "charmless". [1] The Guardian thought it faithful to Carroll's text, but called it a game of two halves, Wonderland working well enough, but that Looking-Glass went "off the boil." [6]

Revivals

The play received a significant revival at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2010 by the Youth Theatre. This revival, unlike its premiere, received more positive reviews, the Angus noting Emily Dyble's "delightful" performance as Alice. [7] The 2022 revival by ARTComedia and Jersey Arts centre also received a positive response, with the Bailwick Express Jersey observing "The sheer scale of the madness played out over the two hours beggars any kind of coherent description, as it should." [8]

Related Research Articles

Dodo (<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i>) Fictional character created by Lewis Carroll

The Dodo is a fictional character appearing in Chapters 2 and 3 of the 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The Dodo is a caricature of the author. A popular but unsubstantiated belief is that Dodgson chose the particular animal to represent himself because of his stammer, and thus would accidentally introduce himself as "Do-do-dodgson".

<i>Through the Looking-Glass</i> 1871 novel by Lewis Carroll

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a novel published on 27 December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. There she finds that, just like a reflection, everything is reversed, including logic.

<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i> 1865 childrens novel by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 English children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics don at Oxford University. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre. The artist John Tenniel provided 42 wood-engraved illustrations for the book.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1933 film) 1933 film

Alice in Wonderland is a 1933 American pre-Code fantasy film adapted from the novels by Lewis Carroll. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, featuring an all-star cast. It is all live action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Harman-Ising Studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Liddell</span> Basis of the character in "Alice in Wonderland"

Alice Pleasance Hargreaves was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip became the classic 1865 children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She shared her name with "Alice", the story's heroine, but scholars disagree about the extent to which the character was based upon her.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1985 film) 1985 two-part film directed by Harry Harris

Alice in Wonderland is a 1985 American two-part made-for-television adventure family fantasy musical film of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). An Irwin Allen production, it used a huge all-star cast of notable actors and actresses. The title role was played by Natalie Gregory, who wore a blonde wig for this miniseries. Alice in Wonderland was first telecast December 9, 1985, and December 10, 1985, at 8:00pm EST on CBS.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1951 film) Animated film by Walt Disney

Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen, and was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske. With the voices of Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, Verna Felton, J. Pat O'Malley, Bill Thompson, and Heather Angel, the film follows a young girl Alice who falls down a rabbit hole to enter a nonsensical world Wonderland that is ruled by the Queen of Hearts, while encountering strange creatures, including the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat.

<i>Adventures in Wonderland</i> (1992 TV series) American TV series or program

Adventures in Wonderland is a 1992–1995 American live-action/puppet musical television series based on the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll as well as the 1951 animated film. In the series, Alice, is portrayed as a girl who can come and go from Wonderland simply by walking through her mirror.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1999 film) 1999 television film by Nick Willing

Alice in Wonderland is a 1999 made-for-television film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It was first broadcast on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4.

<i>The Looking Glass Wars</i> 2004 novel by Frank Beddor

The Looking Glass Wars is a series of three novels by Frank Beddor, heavily inspired by Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. The premise is that the two books written by Lewis Carroll are a distortion of the "true story".

<i>Fushigi no Kuni no Alice</i> Japanese anime television series

Fushigi no Kuni no Alice is an anime adaptation of the 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland which ran on the TV Tokyo network and other local stations across Japan from October 10, 1983 to March 26, 1984. The series was a Japanese-German co-production between Nippon Animation, TV Tokyo and Apollo Films. The series consists of 52 episodes, however, only 26 made it to the US.

<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i> (1972 film) 1972 British musical film by William Sterling

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a 1972 British musical film directed by Australian filmmaker William Sterling, based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel of the same name and its 1871 sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. It had a distinguished ensemble cast and a musical score composed by John Barry with lyrics written by Don Black. In addition, make-up artist Stuart Freeborn created film visuals based on the original drawings by John Tenniel from the first edition of the novel.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (musical) Musical by H. Savile Clarke, Walter Slaughter and Aubrey Hopwood, premiered in 1886

Alice in Wonderland is a musical by Henry Savile Clarke and Walter Slaughter (music), based on Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It debuted at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in the West End on 23 December 1886. Aubrey Hopwood (lyrics) and Walter Slaughter (music) wrote additional songs which were first used for the 1900 revival.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1988 film) 1988 Australian 51-minute direct-to-video animated film

Alice in Wonderland is an Australian 51-minute direct-to-video animated film from Burbank Films Australia originally released in 1988.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1949 film) 1949 French film

Alice in Wonderland is a 1949 French film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Directed by Dallas Bower, the film stars Carol Marsh as Alice, Stephen Murray as Lewis Carroll, and Raymond Bussières as The Tailor. Most of the Wonderland characters are portrayed by stop-motion animated puppets created by Lou Bunin.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1915 film) 1915 American film

Alice in Wonderland is a 1915 American silent film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed and written by W. W. Young and starring Viola Savoy as Alice.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Alice in Wonderland (1931) is an independently made black-and-white Pre-Code American film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed by Bud Pollard, produced by Hugo Maienthau, and filmed at Metropolitan Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

<i>Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland</i>

Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland (2010) is a reimagining of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland written by British-American author J.T. Holden. It tells the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 19 rhyming poems, each written in the same style as Lewis Carroll's original verse. The book includes 36 illustrations by American artist Andrew Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonderland (fictional country)</span> Setting of Alices Adventures in Wonderland

Wonderland is the setting for Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

References

  1. 1 2 Taylor, Paul (15 November 2001). "Alice in Wonderland, RSC The Barbican, London" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2017-04-03. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  2. ""I cannot remember any other motive…": the chronology of creating Wonderland". Contrariwise: the Blog. 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  3. Mitchell, Adrian (2001). Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. London: Oberon Books. ISBN   978-1-84002-256-8.
  4. Lovett, Charles (Spring 2002). "Avon Calling". Knight Letter, Journal of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America. 68: 15 via Archive.org.
  5. Mitchell, Adrian; Carroll, Lewis (2001). Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (2013 ed.). London, UK: Oberon Books Ltd. pp. 9–10. ISBN   978-1-84002-256-8.
  6. Billington, Michael (15 November 2001). "Alice in Wonderland". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  7. Jerram, Barrie (22 December 2010). "Alice In Wonderland, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester, Dec 21 until Jan 1". The Angus. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. Express, Bailiwick. "REVIEW: A family-friendly fever dream". Bailiwick Express Jersey. Retrieved 2023-01-08.