ANU Musical Theatre Collective | Review by Jessica Kelly
Down The Rabbit Hole – Alice By Heart
Amidst the chaos and destruction of the London Blitz in World War II, a group of eccentric individuals flee to a makeshift bomb shelter in the city’s train tunnels. Among them are Alice and Alfred, two best friends, the latter of whom has contracted tuberculosis. Alice is determined to make Alfred well again, and going against strict orders, joins him to tell him their favorite story, Alice In Wonderland. The two are flung down a rabbit hole, into Alice’s imagined version of Wonderland, where the beloved storybook characters become reflections of her conflicting views about purity, growing up, and loss. Navigating this world as the situation in London becomes more dire, the pair must learn how to accept their reality, and what it means to begin moving on.
Directed by Olivia Martin (book by Stephen Sater and Jesse Nelson, music by Duncan Sheik), the ANU Musical Theatre Collective has presented a charismatic and touching production, filled out by a well-rounded, evidently passionate ensemble of young performers and musicians.
With Siye Whitbread’s earnest performance as Alice leading the way, I couldn’t help but root for the character’s well-meaning, but ultimately naïve intentions. Throwing powerhouse vocals into the mix, Whitbread delivers a portrayal of the stages of grief that left me deeply moved at multiple points. She and Alex Matthews (Alfred) shared a starry-eyed chemistry that culminated in a successfully emotional climax. Matthews balances out his counterpart well, musically and emotionally, characterizing Alfred’s struggle with an affecting vulnerability, and entertaining Alice’s immaturity with a gentle touch.
Sophie Parnham as The Queen Of Hearts is a commanding presence, providing delightfully contrasting moments of intimidation, tantrums, and full-blown mania, all the while delivering effortlessly powerful, vocals. At her side as the bumbling King Of Hearts, Marty Kelly lures the audience into a false sense of security before transforming into his second role, The Jabberwocky. Kelly shines as this sinister, unhinged representation of Alice’s fears, and I was left genuinely unnerved by his malevolent performance.
Amongst the chaos, I found myself thankful for Madeleine Galilee’s grounded portrayal of the Cheshire Cat, and her wise guidance of the lead couple. By contrast, James Phillips as the Duchess had the audience cracking up with superb comedic timing and physicality, and was a personal standout, as he balanced his performance with surprisingly poignant moments. The rest of the company, Oliver Walsh (Caterpillar), Tali Blackman (Mad Hatter), Bente Helgeby (Dormouse), Pippa Young and Eve Wheeler each have a moment to shine and perform with passion, adding to the zany environment, supported by a well-synchronized, talented-beyond-their-years band, led by Phoebe Mu.
Emily Walpot and Lara Kirchner respectively deliver on props and costume design, fusing wonderland with 1930’s London by using newspaper, burlap sacks, neck ties, medical tools and gas masks to bring the warped reality to life. Darcy Wiseman’s lighting design pulls these elements together, creating a psychedelic atmosphere with dreamy blues, purples, and shadows.
Martin’s direction ensures a smooth transition between the often fluctuating comedic and serious scenes, but there were moments when I wished for a bolder departure from the original 2019 production’s staging. Attempts to recreate original blocking on a smaller stage sometimes fell flat, and the new concepts that Martin did introduce had such a lasting impact on me, I would have loved to see more.
Regrettably, much of this good work was hampered by issues with audio mixing; I could very rarely hear the performers properly during musical numbers, and would have been very lost if I were not already familiar with the score. I’m sure there are complications with fitting the amount of mics required for cast and band into a small theatre, but between the vocals being too quiet during songs and too loud (often causing feedback) during scenes, it was an issue that was difficult to ignore.
Overall, despite certain production and direction elements that felt unfinished, Alice By Heart gives me great optimism for the next generation of creative artists, who have created a sincere and emotionally-rich production that examines humanity’s universal struggle with grief, while giving us a chance to laugh, cry, and bop along the way!
Jessica Kelly is a young artist currently creating on Ngunnawal land. From performing and viewing, to directing and writing, Jessica Kelly is obsessed with all aspects of theatre. She has enjoyed participating in community productions since her childhood, and took any chance during her school and college years to be involved with the Performing Arts programs, often writing or directing her own pieces. She looks forward to having more exposure to Canberra’s theatre scene as a means to grow her own artistic abilities and perspective!
