A white rabbit, a flamingo and a mock turtle walked into a theatre… “Oh yes, they did”! First Act’s winter production of “Wonderland” took the well known story of Alice’s adventures in a fantasy world and led the audience through a merry maze of stories, jokes, songs and dance numbers towards a cheery conclusion and an even happier audience. This was the feel-good production of the year!

Lewis Carroll’s well loved “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” has been given a modern revamp by writer and director Rowan Lathey, but she still strongly tied everything to the category of ‘literary nonsense’. From the outset, a serious news reporter and the Cheshire cat (played by a very well-prepared Jai Doewsett and Lisa Carter) warned the audience that Wonderland is “the saddest place in the whole world”. But this gloom was short-lived, as we then launched into an energetic performance of The Jackson 5’s “Can you feel it” with the entire cast of 30 (including staff and actors) making moves across the stage. It was a smart decision for this company to bring Alice in Wonderland to Shanklin Theatre, as the colourful, artistic costumes are such fun and instantly recognisable, and everyone could be included as a distinct character.

Alice (a beautiful Natalie Rann in the performance I watched, but I’m sure that Freya Webb was just as good on the other night) had gone down the rabbit hole after Trish Kent’s clever white rabbit and meets some weird and wonderful characters as she tries to help the inhabitants of Wonderland to be happy once again.

Whilst Alice is our hero, the Queen of Hearts is undoubtedly the villain – and Jade Hornbuckle clearly relished shouting orders at everyone in her kingdom. Tweedle Dill, Dee and Dom kept the audience entertained as the action moved to the familiar Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and the croquet match in the rose garden, via a very hungry caterpillar called Colin (other caterpillars are apparently available). Sam Michie as Colin was brilliantly cool, performing “Strawberry Fields” with a confidence only surpassed by Humpty Dumpty (Angus Marchent) who signed his way through a gentle performance of “Edelweiss.”

Too many highlights to mention them all, but I loved the choreography to accompany Chas and Dave’s “Rabbit”, including encouraging the audience to clap along, plus Sinatra’s “L.O.V.E.” with all the signs. A good deal of hard work and preparation had gone into every aspect of this show, and the audience clearly appreciated every minute.

First Act have been bringing wonderful productions like this to Shanklin Theatre for the last thirty years. And you can see why the audience keep coming back for more. The cast may have additional needs – and are ably supported by fabulous staff brilliantly dressed as a deck of cards on stage – but that merely serves to add to the spectrum of the variety of the show. Everyone, company and audience, is just loving it – and for two glorious hours the world was a much better place. Truly, truly “Wonderland”.