Alice – A Virtual Theme Park at Creation Theatre Online

With a great deal of imagination, Creation Theatre presents a fascinating take on Lewis Carroll’s classic – through an interactive theatrical experience. Making the best use of the technological capabilities offered by Zoom, the story is told in an episodic format whereby the audience gets to pick and choose the order in which to experience each chapter. The result is a fun, immersive show that is greatly entertaining – especially for kids, who are definitely going to love it.

Each section is self-contained within its own Zoom call, which the audience can join via the “Wonderland website”. Once a piece has finished, the performers end the call, leaving the audience to select the next. Having explored every segment, everyone gets together for the final scene.

The chapters contain one or more actors who perform a scene from Alice in Wonderland, alongside interactive elements to engage the viewers with. Among others, the audience learns a dance with the March Hare, plays musical chairs with the Queen of Hearts (losers have to provide an excuse as to why she shouldn’t cut their heads off) and participates in a hedgehog croquet race. With a runtime of just over an hour, it’s necessarily abridged, but the most important plot points are still there.

Needless to say, the number and nature of the activities are very imaginative, wholly engaging and are executed extremely well given the limitations of performing a show via video call. Children especially will enjoy the sheer variety and excitement of these games, while also getting the gist of the story.

Speaking of which, this is the one element of the show that is a little lacking. While the performances are all top-notch and enjoyable, the number of interactions necessarily limits in-depth exploration of this classic, making it perhaps less suitable for adults.

Despite this, however, Alice – A Virtual Theme Park still maintains the heart of Carroll’s narrative: exploring the bombastic weirdness of Wonderland, which it preserves flawlessly. For a family discovering a fresh and exciting way to journey down the rabbit hole, this is a fantastic show that shouldn’t be missed.

Michael Higgs
Photo: Creation Theatre

Alice – A Virtual Theme Park is at Creation Theatre Online from 1^st August until 30^th August 2020. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Alice – A Virtual Theme Park here: