ALICE IN WONDERLAND RETURNS
13 Oct – 3 Nov 2018 Guildford Shakespeare Company (GSC) returns with their multi-venue, immersive stage production. It is 150 years since Lewis Carroll first came to Guildford.
2015 marked 150 years of Alice in Wonderland. GSC created a promenade theatrical experience, to celebrate Guildford’s unique relationship with Lewis Carroll, where audiences joined Alice on her curious adventures in Wonderland.
Lewis Carroll and Guildford
Three years later, GSC goes back down the rabbit hole. It also marks Guildford’s unique 150-year relationship with Reverend Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll. In 1868, Dodgson took a lease on a town house, The Chestnuts, in Guildford for his sisters. He made regular visits, often preaching in St Mary’s Church, where his funeral was held in 1898.
Multi-Venue Immersive Stage Production
GSC’s immersive adventure begins in this very church. Arriving at a service by Dodgson, audiences ‘fall asleep’
with Alice, only to awake to find he is replaced by a White Rabbit…and so begins the magical journey through Wonderland. All go from St Mary’s to Guildford Museum (located next to The Chestnuts). The rooms are transformed into different parts of Wonderland, using live action, animation, projection, puppetry and voice overs. Meet life-size caterpillars, the Duchess, a pig-baby, chaotic playing cards and of course the Cheshire Cat. GSC’s Honorary Patron, BRIAN BLESSED, lends his voice to the story of the Mock Turtle and the Griffin. Have tea with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, then to Guildford Castle for the croquet match and the trial of the stolen jam tarts with the King and Queen of Hearts.
This 90-minute show has a strictly limited audience capacity of just 50 people. There are 60 performances in total: 3
per evening, with 4 on Saturdays. Suitable for ages 5 and above.