Amazing Alice in Wonderland production by Perse actors

Perse Middle School actors went on a joyous journey with their production of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

Two separate casts, featuring a total of more than 60 Year 9 and 10 pupils, brought Lewis Carroll’s famous fantastical adventures to life over four shows in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre.

A total audience of around 800 were enchanted by Alice’s encounters with magical characters such as the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Queen of Hearts after falling down the rabbit hole to Wonderland.

Perse drama teacher Jonathan Black, who directed the show, was amazed by the number of students wishing to take part in the production.

He said: “We were looking for a show that was joyous, abstract and a bit challenging, and which had a lot of characters and a lot of opportunities for a large number of students to be involved. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass lent themselves to this, as everyone in the cast had their moment in the spotlight, even if it was just a brief moment.

Initially, we were just going to have one cast of 35 and we ended up having almost double the number we expected, which was really nice, as well as having 15 to 20 students involved off-stage with the Perse Production Company.

“It was originally going to be two shows, but we wanted to give everyone two opportunities to perform it to an audience, so we decided to expand it to four performances.

“A lot of people hadn’t been involved in a Perse production before or were new to Year 9 this year, so it was fabulous to see them take that opportunity.”

Mr Black was also pleased with the response to Alice in Wonderland from those who watched the performances.

He said: “We had very good audiences for every performance and I was really pleased to see how many Year 9 and 10 students came along to support their friends, as well as families from the Prep and Pelican as it’s a show for all ages.”