Alice in cyberland: Carly Bawden (Alice) and Lois Chimimba (Aly). Photo credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg
Theatre: National Theatre
Play: wonder.land
Playwright: Moira Buffini
Director: Rufus Norris
Review by Irenosen Okojie
wonder.land, the new musical created by Blur frontman Damon Albarn, Moira Buffini and the National Theatre’s artistic director Rufus Norris is an ambitious, fresh take on Lewis Carroll’s classic story.
With Albarn as composer, and the inclusion of the seductive yet dangerous lure of the digital world, it’s a fitting contemporary adaptation for a social media obsessed generation.
Teenager Aly, energetically played by Lois Chimimba, wrestles with the usual problems befalling teenagers: an overbearing mother called Bianca (Golda Rosheuvel), trouble adjusting at school, bullying and the repercussions of her parents being estranged. All these threads are carefully woven into this tale to provide darker and more nuanced undertones.
Is it any wonder that she longs to escape her unhappy world to experience an alternative reality? As part of her entry into this new digital world, Aly creates an avatar called Alice (Carly Bawden) as a way to escape her increasingly disenfranchised existence at home where her father Matt’s (Paul Hilton) gambling has forced her parents to separate. As for Aly’s mother, her time is absorbed by her new baby brother, amusingly represented by a vomiting puppet.
Aly finds comfort in her alternative universe using her avatar Alice to seek adventure in wonder.land, an online game which provides magic and challenges in equal measure. As elements of the imagined world begin to clash with her real world, Aly’s mobile phone is confiscated by her frightful headmistress Ms Manxome (a robust and vivid Anna Francolini). Ms Manxome, also named Alice, then steals Alice’s avatar identity to play the game herself.
Playwright Moira Buffini has adapted Alice in Wonderland deftly, incorporating modern references as well as touchingly relatable topics like cyber bullying and a dysfunctional family life. Albarn’s songs provide a strong accompaniment to the narrative and are eclectic enough to match the chaos of Aly’s home life as well as the possibilities created by wonder.land
Searching for an identity: Lois Chimimba (Aly), Paul Hilton (Matt) and Enyi Okoronkwo (Luke). Photo credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg
Notable performances include Hal Fowler as the brilliant MC (Cheshire Cat/ Caterpillar) and Enyi Okoronkwo as Luke Laprel, Aly’s funny, discerning and wily gay classmate who is also trying to survive amid the perilous waters of the school yard.
The musical doesn’t necessarily realise all its ambitions fully, although the strong video presence, innovative costumes and staging help to create a dazzlingly surreal vision. What Buffini and her co-creators have to be commended for is a futuristic, visually dynamic and arresting project that re-energises a classic story, bolstered by a strong cast, which will take the audience on a wacky and enjoyable ride.
wonder.land is at the National Theatre until 30 April 2016. A co-production with Manchester International Festival, wonder.land will visit the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in June 2016.