Longford's Backstage Youth Theatre brings winter wonder to the stage with Alex in Wonderland

Backstage Youth Theatre present their winter Panto 'Alex in Wonderland' this weekend at the home of theatre in Longford, Backstage Theatre.

Written by Brendan Williams, this is a take on the Alice in Wonderland story. The twist in this panto is that the White Rabbit gets the wrong girl, and brings ‘Alex’, and not Alice back to Wonderland, where she meets some of the familiar Wonderland characters; Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the Cheshire Cat, the Red Queen and her nasty side-kick Dr Evil, and of course the Mad Hatter.

“This is the second time BYT has performed this Brendan Williams' panto, Alex in Wonderland,” Paul Higgins, the Chairperson of BYT, said of the production.

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“The first time was in 2012 and it featured none other than this years' director, Hannah Carleton. It's great to see it reimagined from 'the inside'. We have a big cast of 28 on stage and exactly half of them are Newbies to BYT, so it is very exciting to see what they can do,” Paul told the Leader.

In the show The Red Queen is about to take over Wonderland, unless our heroes can come up with a plan to stop her. As with any panto, there will be lots of music and dancing, plenty of comedy moments and more than a few surprises, which will enchant young and old alike.

“It's a case of mistaken identity, where the titular character becomes the hero,” director Hannah said of this year's show.

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In it Alex must overcome this case of mistaken identity, win control of the kingdom, and find her way home once and for all, before the villains decide it’s off with her head.

“The last time BYT presented it I was a teenager myself, I played the White Rabbit. So it's quite a nice full circle moment to direct it now,” Hannah told.

This is the director's second outing with the group having taken up the directorial role for last year's Robyn Hood and Her Fabulous Females. The choice of Alex in Wonderland was an easy one for Hannah: “I think it's a really strong piece. Brendan Williams' scripts are always brilliant, but I think it's one of the most engaging ones in his portfolio. It's just very funny, very timeless.

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“We have an incredible cast this year. For Paul and myself it's important that anyone who wants to be in the show will find a place. We have a chorus of 20 teenagers. They're incredible, for a lot of them, it's their first production.”

The director is pleased with the crew she is working with: “The amount of talent that came in this year, added to past members make it a really exceptional group.

“We have eight members in the main cast. Six of them are older members who've been in plays before. Two of them are brand new, and they're just absolutely on level with the oldies. They're just an incredibly strong bunch, really good at taking direction, really patient with me, and really great at taking initiative and coming up with their own character ideas as well.”

One of the facets of Youth Theatre is the learning opportunities it affords members: “I think probably the most basic skills we teach are social interactions and confidence, just being able to stand up on stage and project their voice and behave in a silly way, like watching the transformation from first week of rehearsal to now, they're just totally transformed in their confidence.

“They learn technical skills, like how to stand on the stage, how to make an interesting shape. We have an amazing crew as well, who handle the backstage elements. So making props, putting props together, organising them, helping us with the lighting and the sound, and a lot of the chorus members are decorating their own costumes as well.”

Alice Farrell is playing the titular Alex, Aodhan Reid will be playing the part of Doctor Evil, Alexandra Adejinmi plays the role of Tweedledum, Aisling Coogan is the Mad Hatter, Gemma Taffe is the Cheshire Cat, Margelle Tuyogan is the White Rabbit, while Julia Kazik plays the Red Queen.

As with all pantos the show plays on absurdity: “It's an extremely funny take on an old classic. You never know where it's going. We have stars like Jedward, in brackets, not the real Jedward, who will be performing in the show. It's as funny for the adults as it will be for the kids,” Hannah says of the show.

As with every production there are many people helping out: “I would just give a shout out to all the adult volunteers who've made it happen. Paul, Martine, Ala doing costumes. Sean, who's bringing the light for us. Dara Murray, who helps us with sound.

“We have a bunch of parents who get involved as well. We couldn't make the show happen without them,” Hannah concluded.
Alex in Wonderland by BYT will be staged at Backstage Theatre on Friday Jan 17 (7pm), Sat & Sun, Jan 18 & 19 (3pm), Friday, Jan 24 (7pm) and Saturday, Jan 25 (3pm). Tickets range from €10 to €15 with a family of four ticket for €42.