“The most hilarious madcap fun” – Broadwayworld.com

This glorious production features breathtaking costuming and puppetry using ingenious stagecraft and limitless imagination, will thrill children and adults alike. Meet the White Rabbit, the eccentric Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and of course the boisterous Queen of Hearts as a cast of brilliant actors bring over 20 curious characters to life.

“The perfect holiday treat” – Stage Whispers

True to the original book, there is something for everyone with plenty of word play and pun-based humour that older kids and adults will enjoy, while younger children will love the colourful characters, charming puppetry and physical comedy (especially by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!).

Alice in Wonderland
7 – 8 April (10.30am, 2pm and 6pm daily)
QPAC’s Concert Hall, South Brisbane
www.qtix.com.au

This vivid approach isn’t just limited to the visuals either. The landscapes and creatures are integral to a story that also expands the mind. One thinks that the story’s original author Lewis Carroll might have gotten hold of some of the Blue Caterpillar’s best stash before pen was put to paper.

Australian actor Mia Wasikowska as Alice, starts out as a dour young girl sent off to marry a man she doesn’t love and through the magic of the story becomes a luminous woman ready to take on the world. It really is a girl power tale for the ages (maybe minus all the drug references though). Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter gets to channel all his inner craziness and is a real scene-stealer.

Having read the original text so far back in my past I can’t attest to any of its devotion to the original story, I can only state that giving someone with as much imagination as Tim Burton free reign to capture the vision in his mind’s eye has helped to create one of the most visually arresting films of all time. It’s also to the film’s credit that the storyline is every bit the equal to the visual extravagance.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/DisneyAUNZ

‘You’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.’
-The Mad Hatter-

The New York SMASH HIT production of Lewis Carroll’s timeless classic ALICE IN WONDERLAND comes to life on stage in the most hilarity-filled madcap fun – touring Brisbane, Gold Coast & the Sunshine Coast during these July school holidays. Tumble down the rabbit hole and join Alice, one of literature’s most beloved heroines, in her adventures through Wonderland.

With the cast being summoned from across the country and led by Queensland’s first lady of theatre in Karen Crone, as the Mad Hatter (in a casting twist similar to that of the Cheshire Cat’s smile), this stage production features incredible costumes and sets and is a must-see for children and adults alike – for everyone who loves one of the world’s most-read stories!

Creating Wonderland is NIDA and WAAPA graduate Georgina Walker (Alice), Mamma Mia star James Shaw (White Rabbit), veteran of stage and screen Simon Burvill-Holmes (Queen of Hearts/Cheshire Cat), Karen Crone (Mad Hatter), Oliver Lacey (March Hare), Matilda-award nominated Jackson McGovern (Dormouse/Caterpillar), Queensland stage star Justine Anderson (Tweedle Dum) and Sarah Whale (Tweedle Dee), together with a handful of brilliant puppeteers, who bring to life over 20 unforgettable characters using their ingenious stagecraft and limitless possibilities of imagination.

Australian Producer, Ethan Walker, began this production at the Brisbane Powerhouse in early 2016 and it has since enjoyed sold-out runs all over the world, including in New York & Los Angeles, where it became the highest-grossing show at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood for the last five years. He said it was one of the most universal of all stage stories.

“The original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been translated into 174 languages. People from all walks of life can relate to it. The same speaks true for our production as we have many international people working on our team. Our Set Designer, Zachary Lieberman is from Los Angeles, our Graphic Designer Yi Ling is from Singapore and our Emmy Award Winning Costume Designer- Diana Eden is from Canada. Throw these talented people in with our Australian Director, Penny Farrow and you have an international group of people being united through the work of Lewis Carroll,” he said.

“We tell this extraordinary story through actors and puppets. There is something magical about seeing a life size puppet come to life. You truly believe it’s the White Rabbit and forget there’s a Puppeteer controlling him. Wonderland is a very enchanting place, and that enchantment should not be lost when transitioned onto the stage.”

“We have massive mushroom props that the Actors use throughout the performance to tell the story. In one scene the Caterpillar is sitting on a large mushroom, and in the next scene that same mushroom turns into a tree trunk table for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. It’s truly magical to watch. We also have a highly respected Australian Actress, Karen Crone who plays the Mad Hatter. I’ve never heard of a production before who has cast a female into the role of the Hatter. There would be no point in producing a show that was a cookie cutter of every other Alice in Wonderland production. We needed to think outside the box to ensure that this production would be extra special, while at the same time staying true to the essence of Lewis Carroll’s work.”

The ‘entirely bonkers’ story of Alice in Wonderland has delighted the world for generations & this newest incarnation will continue that tradition – dazzling family members of all ages! Don’t be late for this very important date – book your seats now!

ALICE IN WONDERLAND – LIVE ON STAGE
SUNSHINE COAST
The Events Centre, Caloundra
7th July 2018 @ 2pm & 6pm
Tickets from $39.90 www.theeventscentre.com.au Ph: 5491 4240

BRISBANE
Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm
10th July @ 7pm
11th- 13th July @ 11am & 2pm
14th July @ 11am, 2pm & 7pm
Tickets from $39.90 www.brisbanepowerhouse.org Ph: 3358 8600

GOLD COAST
HOTA, Surfers Paradise
15th July @ 1pm & 4pm
Tickets from $39.90 www.hota.com.au Ph: 5588 4000

The enduring fascination with Carroll’s stories and characters uniquely traces the evolution of filmmaking, providing the perfect subject matter for Australia’s national film museum, ACMI, to illustrate our ongoing fascination with new visual technologies over more than a century. From the earliest optical toys to silent film, animation, puppetry, live-action cinema, videogames, CGI, 3D and beyond, WONDERLAND explores how the moving image has kept Alice and her stories in the public consciousness, reinvented in contemporary contexts and mediums.

“This latest ACMI-created Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition showcases the moving image adaptations of Carroll’s seminal works through celebrating the evolution of filmmaking, from the earliest optical toys through to new technologies,” said ACMI CEO & Director, Katrina Sedgwick. “With WONDERLAND ACMI has created an interactive exhibition where audiences explore the magic of film craft and its integral role embedding this much-loved story in our imaginations for generations.”

Commencing in Lewis Carroll’s drawing room, visitors are handed their own Lost Map of Wonderland, a physical and digital device unlocking surprising experiences during their exhibition journey and beyond. With their interactive map in hand, visitors wander the world of Wonderland, losing themselves in the Hallway of Doors, playing at the Queen’s Croquet Ground and taking part in a magical Mad Hatter’s Tea Party that comes to life before their very eyes. Along the way they will find more than 300 unique objects sourced from all around the world including first edition publications and illustrations, magic lantern projectors, concept drawings, animation cels, spectacular costumes, puppets, props and more.

Rich with inspiration for visual interpretation, Carroll’s tales have been the subject of more than 40 films and over 30 television programs. Today Alice remains an icon; omnipresent and continually relevant through her presence across music videos, video games, high fashion and advertising. WONDERLAND takes audiences on Alice’s journey through popular culture, demonstrating how artists, filmmakers and fans have returned to her story with the help of screen technologies for more than a century.

From the first screen adaptation by Cecil M Hepworth in 1903 to Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), WONDERLAND reveals the development of special effects from pre-cinematic entertainment to silent film, animation to puppetry, live-action cinema, videogames, CGI, 3D and beyond. Among the films featured; Norman Z McLeod’s 1933 version featuring a young Cary Grant; Lou Bunin’s Alice Au Pays des Merveilles (1949) which almost did not make it to the screen; Jan Svankmajer’s acclaimed Alice (1988); the Quay Brothers’ experimental Alice in Not So Wonderland (2007); and television versions by the BBC and NBC, and much more.

Made in Melbourne by the team at ACMI, this wholly original exhibition brings the museum’s extensive creative and curatorial expertise together with a leading team of Australian collaborators, creating an immersive experience complete with playful environments and bespoke digital activities that draw upon the wonder and curiosity of Carroll’s stories. Together with ACMI curators Jessica Bram and Sarah Tutton, exhibition and theatrical designer Anna Tregloan, digital creative studios Sandpit, Grumpy Sailor and Mosster Studio, sound designer Byron Scullin and composer Cornel Wilczek, as well as lighting designer Niklas Pajanti, have designed an interactive world to delight and surprise adults and children alike.

A must-see this winter, the world premiere season of ACMI’s WONDERLAND exhibition will run from Thursday 5 April to Sunday 7 October 2018.

Wonderland Exhibition
ACMI Melbourne
5 April – 7 October 2018
www.acmi.net.au

This vivid approach isn’t just limited to the visuals either. The landscapes and creatures are integral to a story that also expands the mind. One thinks that the story’s original author Lewis Carroll might have gotten hold of some of the Blue Caterpillar’s best stash before pen was put to paper.

Australian actor Mia Wasikowska as Alice, starts out as a dour young girl sent off to marry a man she doesn’t love and through the magic of the story becomes a luminous woman ready to take on the world. It really is a girl power tale for the ages (maybe minus all the drug references though). Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter gets to channel all his inner craziness and is a real scene-stealer.

Having read the original text so far back in my past I can’t attest to any of its devotion to the original story, I can only state that giving someone with as much imagination as Tim Burton free reign to capture the vision in his mind’s eye has helped to create one of the most visually arresting films of all time. It’s also to the film’s credit that the storyline is every bit the equal to the visual extravagance.

Rob Hudson
www.disney.go.com