Cast and first look at Alice in Wonderland at New Vic Theatre this Christmas
New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme is to bring its retelling of Alice in Wonderland back to the stage this Christmas.
The venue’s 60th anniversary celebrations will culminate with the festive show which first debuted in 2011.
Running 18 November 2022 – 18 January 2023, the show will see Danielle Bird and Michael Hugo share the role of the Mad Hatter/Chorus alongside Victoria Brazier as the White Queen/Mam/Musician/Chorus and Katie Cannon as Chorus/Musician.
Jimmy Chambers will play Tweedledum/Musician/Chorus with Angelina Chudi as Tweedledee/Musician/Chorus. Stasha Dukic will appear as the Cheshire Cat/Musician/Chorus.
Making her professional debut is Eleanor Fransch as Alice, with Lucinda Freeburn as the Dormouse/Rose/Musician/Chorus; Matthew Ganley as Dodger/White King/Mad March Hare/Musician/Chorus; Purvi Parmar as Red Queen/Chorus; Kyle Potter as Chorus/Musician; Peter Watts as The Great Blanco/White Rabbit/Musician/Chorus and Madeleine Wilshire as Chorus/Musician.
New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins (Marvellous, Tom, Dick, and Harry) said: “I’m so happy to be bringing our production of Alice in Wonderland to the New Vic stage this year as the finale to our 60th anniversary year of theatre making in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.
“When we first staged this show in 2011, we gave the classic tale a radical overhaul, exploring themes of illiteracy and food poverty and how both might affect a young child in our world. Sadly, we find these are themes that are still as relevant today as they were then, and so it seemed appropriate to bring our Alice back to the stage.
“In our version of the story, Alice is a young girl who can’t read, navigating her way through a new city to find food for her family, discovering many different types of people and places along the way in ‘wonderland’. The character discovers a love of storytelling and reading on her journey, as well as her sense of self, and it’s a wonderful exploration of how a character can grow through many different experiences.
“There’s an important message at the heart of the story that makes Alice a relevant, relatable character and I’m delighted to be able to share it with audiences once again.”
The piece is directed and written by Theresa Heskins with set designer Laura Willstead, costume designer Lis Evans, composer/musical director James Atherton, choreographer Beverley Norris-Edmunds, lighting designer Daniella Beattie, sound designer Alex Day, illusions design and supervision by Darren Lang, puppetry director Paschale Straiton, casting associate Anji Carroll CDG and staff director Filiz Ozcan.
For more information and tickets, visit newvictheatre.org.uk
