The National Theatre has embarked on a new initiative, designed in order that its expertise generally might be utilised by an independent company for a production to be staged in the Peacock Theatre. First to benefit from the scheme is Sligo's Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, who have brought two adaptations by Jocelyn Clarke, successfully staged in their home base, to Dublin. They have opened with the second of these, Alice Through The Looking Glass, for which they have supplemented their own considerable skills with consultancy in the areas of stage design, lighting, sound, stage management and voice coaching.
This is a quite charming version of the Lewis Carroll tale, set in Alice's memory and infused with the mature woman's recollection of its genesis, when he invented chess tales for her and her sisters as they learnt the game. The looking glass world is a chessboard, and she is trying to reach the eighth square to become a queen.
On her journey, she meets the Red and White Queens, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Walrus and the Carpenter, Humpty Dumpty, the Lion and the Unicorn and others. They all move in a balletic, mime-based manner, colourful and graceful, and speak the words beautifully. Niall Henry directs his cast of Elizabeth Bracken, John Carty, David Heap, Ciaran McCauley, Fiona McGeown and Sandra O'Malley with a lucid sense of the story and its characters.
In sum, a colourful production and a very worthwhile initiative.
Alternates weekly with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland until August 12th; to book, telephone: 01-8787222