Sydney students treated to Alice in Wonderland play
Classic novel adapted for theatre
Hundreds of students in Sydney are being treated to a stage version of the classic novel, Alice in Wonderland, this week at the Highland Arts Theatre.
The book has been adapted for the stage by playwright and actor, James Thompson, who says it's one of his favourite stories.
"We focused on making everything as [cartoon-like] and big as possible," Thompson said. "We could have made things really simple but we wanted to make things big and wonderful looking,"
Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll in 1865, turned 150 years old this year.
Students enjoying the show
"I liked it" and "It was funny", were some of the comments from children who saw the play.
Rachel Murphy, who plays Alice, said having young people in the audience heightens the experience for the actors.
"Kids laugh at the weirdest things and sometimes you're not prepared so something you've never found funny, all of a sudden children are laughing at it for twenty minutes," said Murphy.
Thompson, who also directs the play, said he hopes it creates a sense of the possible in children and adults.
"I was picturing this living storybook cartoon idea and it happened," said Thompson, who is thrilled with the production and response.
Alice will continue stumbling into the rabbit hole for school shows throughout the week with a final public performance Thursday evening.