I have to admit, the first time I watched my niece stare wide-eyed at a theatre curtain twitching with promise, I felt a pang of nostalgia mixed with mild panic that my own childhood favourites were gathering dust. Yet here we are in mid-July, with Alice in Wonderland bouncing back into London just in time for the school holidays, and it feels like the right sort of rebellion against whatever fleeting trends try to elbow their way into family time.
The production from DEM Productions, adapted by Penny Farrow and directed and designed by Nate Bertone, opens today at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. It runs until 2 August before transferring to Soho Theatre Walthamstow from 5 to 16 August. At a breezy 60 minutes with no interval and recommended for ages five and up, it is pitched perfectly as that rare treat: proper live theatre that does not exhaust small attention spans or lecture anyone.
This is not some reinvention chasing headlines. It follows the show's UK premiere at Marylebone Theatre last year and an earlier Easter stint at the same Hammersmith venue. The cast features Ailsa Erskine as Alice, with Kate Malyon as the Cheshire Cat, Clare Brice as the White Rabbit, Honey Gabriel as the Hatter, Sean Garratt doubling as Caterpillar and Dormouse, Tom Giles as the Hare, Skye Hallam and Sophie Wilkinson as Tweedle Dee and Dum, and Daniel Page as the Queen of Hearts. There is something quietly reassuring about watching familiar faces from previous runs return alongside fresh ones. It suggests a company that understands continuity matters.
I'm thrilled to be bringing Alice back to London this summer. Our cast and creative team have crafted a Wonderland that is vibrant, imaginative, and brimming with curious surprises around every corner. I'm delighted to welcome both new and returning company members to this magical adventure, and most importantly, to invite audiences of all ages to join us down the rabbit hole.
That is Nate Bertone speaking, and you can hear the genuine enthusiasm. His words landed in the official cast announcement back in June. Emily Lunnon and Ramin Sabi of DEM Productions added their own warmth: "We're thrilled to be bringing Alice and the whole gang of Carroll's brilliant characters back to London this summer, reaching new family audiences at the beautiful Soho Theatre Walthamstow alongside our return to Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. With many familiar faces returning alongside some exciting new additions, we can't wait to share this visually stunning production of a British classic across the capital."
The press performance is set for 21 July at 3pm, but the real story begins today with ordinary families filing in. I keep thinking about those afternoons when my own lot were smaller, how a shared story in a darkened theatre somehow glued us together tighter than any screen ever could. Lewis Carroll's tale has survived because it trusts imagination over ideology, wonder over lectures. In an age when so much entertainment seems determined to divide us by age, outlook or whatever the latest fashion demands, this feels like a small, stubborn victory for the things that bind us.
