Alice in Wonderland
“Curiouser and curiouser!” Alice said as she picked herself up off the floor. She must have fallen down the rabbit hole chasing after the White Rabbit. Follow Alice as she explores the magical world of ‘Wonderland’ and meets a host of peculiar residents.
This show made its debut in Australia, in 2024, and was performed in Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra. Earlier this year, the show was performed at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne before travelling across the pond to the UK. The current production at the Marylebone Theatre marks the show’s official London debut.
Enough cannot be said about the design of the show, it looks like it's been ripped from a page in a storybook. With its cartoon-esque style, the set feels very inspired by the classic Disney animated version of ‘Alice in Wonderland’; the multi-layered stage frames are covered in an assortment of playing cards, clocks, books etc, which, when paired with the blue and purple hues of the lightning, create the illusion of falling down the rabbit hole. It’s magical and has us feeling excited to see the show unfold.
The costumes, much like the set, are vivid and highly imaginative. They’re exactly what you might see in your minds eye when you think of the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ cartoons you grew up with. We particularly appreciate the embroidered ‘Wonderland’ symbols on the edge of Alice’s dress, making it stand out as a particularly unique version of this iconic look.
The puppetry in this show really brings everything together, adding an entirely new element of wonder. There are so many different kinds, from hand puppets to two person puppets and costume-integrated puppets. The Cheshire Cat puppet is by far our favourite, with its detachable head, wide grin and glowing eyes. At times it’s a bit creepy, but nevertheless we like that this is a puppet rather than a silhouette projected onto the set.
Unfortunately, for all of the brilliance of the shows design and puppeteering, we found the story significantly lacking. There’s nothing especially original or engaging about it, there’s no audience interaction or anything for the audience to really grip onto. The show feels more like listening to a library story time in the sense that a lot of it is directly regurgitated from the book and it’s because of this that the script comes across as greatly underestimating and misunderstanding its audience.
All of this being said, the cast did well at committing to their roles and we thought that Daniel Page’s performance in the role of The Queen of Hearts was outstanding. He characterises her as constantly flipping the switch, which makes her a great villain, and gives her a panto-esque performance quality.
Well intentioned with a design aesthetic more vivid and imaginative than your wildest dreams.
This show was reviewed on the 20th July 2025 at the Marylebone Theatre, London where it runs until the 31st August 2025. Buy your tickets here: Alice in Wonderland at Marylebone Theatre
Review written by Megan O'Neill
AD/Gifted
Photo credit : Steve Gregson
Check out other reviews from Curtain Call Reviews and get in touch to have our reviewers head to your show.