Alice in Wonderland

Being a somewhat avid supporter of the Phoenix Theatre, I went along to check out their end of year production ('Alice in Wonderland'). Given that I've never seen a theatre or film adaptation of Alice, (put that down to a deprived childhood), I had no preconceived ideas / notions of what to expect. That said, there's probably no need for me to outline the story, for one, I couldn't do so as elequently as Perth's most valuable theatre supporter and critic, the esteemed Gordon the Optom I arrived at the theatre to be greeted by the madcap front of house crew who were dressed appropriately in a range of colurful costumes. The front of house too, was brightly decorated, and much to the delight of the kiddies included a popcorn vending machine (great idea guys.) As for the show? What a wonderful / colourful spectacle it was. A definite must see for the kiddies (even without the popcorn.) This family show has it all, wacky characters, wonderful costumes (kudos to Samantha Ashman), dancing, singing, audience participation, and most importantly, a cast who are visibly having a whole lot of fun. Speaking of said cast; it's wrong to single out individuals, being all cast members played their parts well, however, the White Rabbit (William Sherwood), the Cheshire Cat (Jean Marcello), the Duchess (Sheryl Gale), Mad Hatter (Amy Tyers),and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee proved a hit with the audience. I must congratulate Jane Sherwood for, what appeared to me as near perfect casting (not an easy thing to achieve in community theatre). Of course, one would be remiss to leave out the talented and lovely Tamiah Bantum who made a perfect 'Alice'. To gauge this girl's talent, check out the scene with the 'Mock Turtle' (Belinda Wong.) To close, congratulations to all involved with this production. Your hard work has resulted in a quality show in all aspects. Well done guys and dolls. Best of luck with the rest of the season. cheers Johnny Grim