Performance a novel interpretation of Alice story

By NIGEL GEARING

Alice In Wonderland is back but you won't have seen it like this before. The classic tale will be performed as an interactive journey in a garden on the shores of Lake Pupuke this weekend. The actors will be in costumes used at last year's America's Cup ball and guests will be greeted by a frog and a fish footman.

Five "Alices" from the Takapuna-based Real Theatre Company - which is mounting the production in partnership with the Lake House Arts Centre - will escort groups of up to 50 through arts philanthropists David and Genevieve Becroft's gardens.

Groups will set off with an Alice at regular intervals. Each journey through this series of vignettes takes a little under an hour.

First, each group will crawl through a rabbit tunnel decorated with antiques, including clocks and sideboards. When they reappear they will encounter Humpty Dumpty, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. In the garden, giant flowers will talk to each group as it passes.

A Cheshire cat will present a scene from a tree as Alice heads to a party where actors will paint the roses red.

The Queen of Hearts will be unimpressed. Her tantrum will be directed at Alice, who will be forced to play croquet, and lose. She will flee with her group in tow along the path on the shore of Lake Pupuke.

On the lake, Mock Turtle will recite poetry from his dinghy. Finally, Alice will hear music and follow the sound along a path where she will arrive at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

Up to 40 actors are involved and all are performing free. One of the few professional actors in the Real Theatre Company is Tim Raby, who plays the Mad Hatter.

"I've been in Alice before, but never in a production like this," he says. "I love the concept."

The idea was the brainchild of the company's director David Coddington and designer Sarah Burren, who established RTC last year. Coddington is best known among Auckland audiences for his time at Mercury Theatre in the late 80s, where his work included Kiss of the Spiderwoman and Ladies' Night. As a freelancer he has directed Alice in Wonderland many times.

"I have stuck to the story, but I wanted some sort of structure that would take advantage of the setting and was a bit different," Coddington says. "Then Sarah [Burren] came along with the costumes and my imagination was fuelled."

Burren says the America's Cup ball costumes had been offered for use in the show by an anonymous donor. At the time she was a neighbour of the Becrofts and asked if she could use their gardens for the production.

Genevieve Becroft is well known on the North Shore for her biennial sculpture shows to raise funds for Women's Refuge. The collection of sculpture owned by the Becrofts will be on display in the garden.

"Initially this production of Alice was to be a fundraiser, but it's actually more about getting our name out there," Coddington says. "We want to bring professional theatre to the North Shore."

Performance

* What: March Madness

* Where and when: Becroft Gardens, 9 Lakeview Rd, Takapuna, March 27-28, 10am-noon, 1pm-3pm, 4pm-6pm