Alice Through the Looking-Glass opens on May 31st

Previews for the new production of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass, adapted for the stage by James Reaney, began earlier this month at the Stratford Festival. Director Jillian Keiley and designer Bretta Gerecke promise a lavish, child-inspired production:

“As children take inspiration from their own lives, Bretta and I have planned a world as created by the child Alice – full of bicycles and toy wagons, kites and chessboards,” says Ms Keiley. “But since this world is through the looking-glass, bicycles have giant trees growing out of the handlebars, red toy wagons inspire a flotilla for the Queen’s entrance, and the kings and queens of chessboards join all the characters from Alice’s mounds of books. Our goal is to tap into that wonderful world of seven-year-olds, where anything is not only possible but likely, and the only thing you can reasonably expect is the unexpected.”

The show runs May 31 to October 12 at the Avon Theatre in Stratford, Ontario. For tickets, contact the box office at 1.800.567.1600 or visit stratfordfestival.ca

For a tantalizing glimpse of the production, see the “Alice Through the Looking-Glass” preview on YouTube.

Update June 2: What reviewers are saying: “Lufrednow. Or, from the other side of the looking glass: wonderful.”Laura Cudworth in The Beacon Herald
“This smashing production of Alice Through the Looking-Glass truly deserves it. If you don’t know a child, rent one for the afternoon and go see this show.” — Richard Ouzounian, The Toronto Star

For more about the Alice opening show, see JBNBlog.

Trish Lindström as Alice in “Alice Through the Looking-Glass”, May 31 to October 12 at the Avon Theatre in Stratford, Ontario.
Cynthia Dale as The Red Queen in “Alice Through the Looking-Glass,” May 31 to October 12, 2014
Flower from Alice Through the Looking-Glass, April 5, 2014. Courtesy Stratford Beacon Herald.

“Alice” events at the Stratford Festival Forum

Several Forum events and activities offer a chance to explore Alice Through the Looking-Glass, including Alice Adventure Lunches, a themed meal and activity to ignite your child’s imagination before the magic unfolds on stage; Adapting Alice, a panel discussion including Jillian Keiley and Peter Hinton, playwright for the Shaw Festival; and Acting Up: Alice, a drama workshop in which 8- to 10-year-olds use costumes to explore scenes and characters from the play.

Alice Through the Looking-Glass is a Schulich Children’s Play presentation and produced in association with Canada’s National Arts Centre.

At the May 5, 2014 preview performance of Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Chris Spaleta from Seaforth, Ontario was presented with a lifetime pass for two for being the Stratford Festival’s 26 millionth patron! 

May 5, 2014: Chris Spaleta with the cast of Alice Through the Looking-Glass. Photo courtesy Stratford Beacon Herald.