Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

Lewis Carroll

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2001
• ISBN:
  9781849437479
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

On a glorious summer's afternoon, young Alice happens upon a smartly dressed rabbit looking at his watch and muttering 'I'm too late!' This being an unexpected occurrence, she follows him down a nearby rabbit hole and falls in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll's timeless children's stories Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There are magically brought to life in this new adaptation by Adrian Mitchell, specially commissioned for a Christmas production by the RSC. The amazing Lobster Quadrille, the Queen of Hearts' infamous croquet match and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party are just a few of the remarkable events and characters in this enchanting play.

Characters

Charles DODGSON (Lewis Carroll) also DODO and WHITE KNIGHT
Canon DUCKWORTH also DUCK
ALICE Liddell (aged 10)
LORINA Liddell (aged l3) also the LORY
EDITH Liddell (aged 8) also the EAGLET
White RABBIT (and puppet)
UNSEEN VOICE
CAKE VOICE
BOTTLE VOICE
CROCODILE puppet
MOUSE
OLD MAGPIE
CANARY
CATERPILLAR (and Caterpillar puppet)
FATHER WILLIAM, also in Jabberwocky
YOUTH, also in Jabberwocky
FISH-FOOTMAN
FROG-FOOTMAN
DUCHESS
BABY pig puppet
COOK
CHESHIRE CAT
March HARE also HAIGHA
Mad HATTER also HATTA
DORMOUSE
FIVE, TWO, SEVEN
of Spades, three playing-card gardeners
Soldiers (as Clubs), Courtiers (as Diamonds),
Royal Children (as Hearts) and Guests
QUEEN of Hearts
KNAVE of Hearts
KING of Hearts
FIRST SOLDIER (as Ace of Clubs)
GRYPHON
MOCK TURTLE
PUPPETS of all courtroom characters except Alice
Dinah (Alice’s cat – puppet)
Kitty (Dinah’s black kitten – puppet)
Snowdrop (Dinah’s white kitten – puppet)
TIGER-LILY
GOAT
Railway GUARD
GENTLEMAN in white paper
BEETLE
HORSE
FAWN
TWEEDLEDUM
TWEEDLEDEE
WALRUS
CARPENTER
OLD OYSTER
OYSTERS and their GHOSTS
RED KING
Crow – puppet
WHITE QUEEN also SHEEP (and puppet)
HUMPTY DUMPTY
Slithy TOVES
BOROGOVES
Mome RATHS
ARMY SERGEANT
SOLDIERS
WHITE KING (and puppet)
LION
UNICORN
CROWD and DRUMMERS
RED KNIGHT
AGED AGED MAN
FOOD, MUSICIANS and FIREWORKS
JABBERWOCK

This dramatisation of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass was first performed by the RSC at the Barbican Theatre, London, on 29 October 2001, with the following cast:

Katherine Heath	Alice
John Conroy	Caterpillar, Ace of Clubs, White King
Jamie de Courcey	Duckworth, Duck, Ten of Diamonds, Red Knight
Rosie Craig	Lorine, Lory, Four of Hearts, Mome Rath
Marilyn Cutts	Dormouse, White Queen
Fiona Dunn	Unseen Voice, Crocodile’s Voice, Canary, Cook, Four of Diamonds, Whiting, Mome Rath
Martyn Ellis	Gryphon, Humpty Dumpty
Daniel Flynn	Dodgson, Dodo, White Knight
Jamie Golding	Youth, Six of Diamonds, Tweedledum
Richard Henders	White Rabbit
John Hodgkinson	King of Hearts, Borogove, Railway Guard, Unicorn
Robert Horwell	Duchess, Father William, Walrus
Christopher Key	Fish-Footman, Three of Clubs, Snail, Slithy Tove
Paul Kissaun	Frog-Footman, Nine of Clubs, Horse, Slithy Tove
Chris Larner	Mad Hatter, Carpenter, Hatta
Paul Leonard	Voice of Cake, Mock Turtle, Man in White Paper, Red King
Mark McLean	Two of Spades, Slithy Tove, Beetle, Lion
Laura Main	Edith, Eaglet, Two of Hearts, Mome Rath
Dominic Marsh	Knave of Hearts, Slithy Tove, Fawn
Mitchell Moreno	Five of Spades, Snail, Borogove, Goat
Sarah Quist	Magpie, Baby Voice, Seven of Spades, Mome Rath
Sarah Redmond	Voice of Bottle, Cheshire Cat, Whiting, Tiger-Lily
Liza Sadovy	Queen of Hearts, Red Queen
Adam Sims	Mouse, Eight of Diamonds, Porpoise, Slithy Tove, Tweedledee
Martin Turner	March Hare, Borogove, Haigha, Aged Aged Man

Director	Rachel Kavanaugh
Designer	Peter McKintosh
Composers	Terry Davies and Stephen Warbeck
Lighting Designer	Chris Davey
Sound Designers	Andrew Bruce and Terry Jardine for Autograph
Movement Director	Linda Dobell
Producer	Denise Wood

ACT ONE

Scene 1: The River

Warm, flowing music. Curtain up on July 4th, 1862. A cloudless, golden afternoon on the river above Oxford. A long rowing-boat drifts down stream. It is low, with dark polished woodwork, bright silver rowlocks, a rudder with white ropes, two oars, seats with backs of criss-cross wickerwork in dark wood frames with faded green cushions. It’s a fine craft. Resting on their oars sit Charles DODGSON, Lewis Carroll, who is 30, and his friend Canon DUCKWORTH. They are taking the three daughters of Dean Liddell out for a river picnic. LORINA, the eldest child, 13, and EDITH, the youngest sister, 8, sit together in the stern with the steering ropes in their laps. Between the young men and her sisters sits ALICE, aged 10, leaning forward and focused on DODGSON.

DODGSON: (Sings.) A boat under a summer sky
Lingering onward dreamily
Down a quiet river in July.

ALL: (Sing.) All in a golden afternoon.

DUCKWORTH: (Sings.) And three sisters are whispering
Stories of bright imagining
As we float towards the evening.

ALL: (Sing.) All in a golden afternoon
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily –
Life is but a dream.
All in a golden afternoon
All in a golden afternoon.

ALICE: Tell us a story. Please Mr Dodgson. Tell us a story with plenty of nonsense in it.

DODGSON: I’ve told you one story already today, Alice. That’s all till next time.

ALICE/LORINA/EDITH: Ah, but it is next time.

DODGSON: Too hot for stories on the river.

DUCKWORTH: Let’s find some shade.

EDITH: There’s our old chestnut tree!

LORINA: Yes. Make fast the bow, Mr Duckworth!

DUCKWORTH obediently loops the painter over a wooden stake at the riverbank.

LORINA does the same at the stern.

ALICE: All ashore that’s going ashore!

ALL clamber out onto a green riverbank with a chestnut tree. This tree should be used in every scene which calls for a tree, including the Cheshire Cat’s tree. But we should see it, if possible, from different angles, sometimes with decorations, banners, signposts etc, sometimes with blossoms or conkers or bare branches, so it’s always different.

DODGSON produces a large and beautiful cloth – probably Oriental – embroidered with animals. He spreads it on the grass in the shadow of the tree. ALL sit on it.

DUCKWORTH puts down a large picnic basket.

DUCKWORTH: Cold chicken, salad, biscuits, oranges, ginger beer and lemonade.

LORINA, ALICE and EDITH applaud him.

ALICE: We’re all ready for our story, Mr Dodgson.

DODGSON: Very well. Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sisters on the riverbank and having nothing to do. She was considering whether to make a daisy-chain when –

ALL except ALICE freeze.

ALICE stands up as a White RABBIT wearing spectacles, a waistcoat and tweed jacket brushes past her. He has pink eyes and carries a parasol under his left arm. He is elderly, timid, feeble and nervously shilly-shallying. ALICE steps forward.

RABBIT: Oh dear! Oh dear! I’ll be too late.

RABBIT takes a watch out of his waistcoat pocket and scurries around the riverbank looking for something in the ground. Finally he picks up the lower end of the picnic cloth to reveal a large rabbit-hole. He pops into it.

AL...