Alice by Heart
Performers: LAMDA
Venue: Forest Theatre at Greenside
Running time: 1hr 40mins
Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5 Reviewer: Jo Sansom
The White Rabbit asks, when we have this one short life, ‘How long can we spend on the same page?’
A beautifully delivered musical about friendship, grief and daring to start a new chapter.
When booking Alice by Heart, I knew that LAMDA’s postgraduate students would deliver high-quality vocals, movement and performability. What I hadn’t expected was to witness a moving commentary on the nature of loss. This show took me completely by surprise, and I was awed by the depth of insight and emotion in the script and the staggering talent of the young ensemble.
We meet the cast in an underground station during the Blitz, with orphaned children, shell-shocked soldiers and fear all around. As a teenage Alice clings to her childhood friend, Alfred, they recount their favourite book, Alice in Wonderland.
Down the rabbit hole we go, where it is obvious that Wonderland is much changed, and Alice and Alfred are running out of time. As they try to stay within the fantasy world, they are faced with challenges that question their changing relationship with one another.
The performers were so accomplished that the audience felt safe to immerse themselves in the story.
Both Alice and Alfred had beautiful, strong voices, and the movement and vocals of the whole cast were so confident and immaculately rehearsed. They didn’t miss a step or beat for the whole performance, despite the oppressive heat of the theatre on a rare hot day at the Fringe.
From a story known by heart, we see the power of imagination to carry us through the most testing times. However, Alice is so committed to the original story that she refuses to acknowledge the unfolding events in front of her. She and Alfred are not the children they once were, and the future they had imagined together in the real world is no longer a possibility. As Alice is consumed by sadness for all the things she will never do with her best friend, she uses Wonderland to satisfy her teenage rebellion.
Cue some brilliant comedic performances from the Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter and the Duchess, whose songs help Alice explore herself and her new desires.
As a counterpoint, the Cheshire Cat acts as a kindly guide to help Alice face her fear of change and the impending loss of innocence.
As the real world begins to creep into the fantasy – we hear increasing bombs and crashes from the Blitz overhead – Alice becomes more frantic to cling to the past. She begs Alfred to ‘run and play with me still, stay with me still’.
But Alfred is already moving towards his own ending.
The cast move seamlessly through spoken sections and song, and the full ensemble numbers had the whole audience captivated. The songs took my breath away on occasion. The lyrics were so poignant and insightful into the feelings of grief and loss that I had to write several of them down to reread afterwards!
The cast used the small stage to amazing effect, with sharp choreography and smart use of the props and set. My only negative would be that they deserved a bigger venue so more people could experience the show. They could have sold out a theatre four times the size and expanded their show for a bigger stage, although the smaller, downstairs theatre definitely helped create the feeling of being in an air raid shelter, which they used to their advantage.
This is such a relatable show, exploring the worlds we choose to inhabit both physically and through our imagination, and when we are faced with an ending that we don’t like, whether we choose to move forward or continue to live in a story that no longer fits us.
In Alice and Alfred’s case, maybe the story is in the saying goodbye and realising that growing up and moving forward is the only way to truly honour the love you shared.
Everyone has loved and lost, and I know I wasn’t the only member of the audience who was weeping by the final song.
I really can’t recommend this musical enough. Both joyous and haunting, light and dark, a trip down to Wonderland will remind you that love lives forever in the stories you lived together.
★★★★★ 5/5
