A CAST of 30 learners of Pearson High School has been hard at work the last two terms for the staging of Wonderland 2019.
The production will take to the stage in the school hall from tomorrow to Sunday, July 14.
“This is no ordinary version of Alice in Wonderland, but a truly wacky one, with everything from a Steampunk Queen of Hearts to Mary Poppins on a mission to find the young girl who fell down a rabbit hole and was lost to reality,” said director, Linda-Louise Swain.
She said they had embraced the Brechtian techniques of video clips as part of the setting, some expressionist performances and many weird and wonderful alienation techniques.
“I wanted to tap in on the cast‘s talent and creativity as well and gave them the challenge of each creating their own Steampunk costume for those particular scenes. They all researched with great enthusiasm and we certainly have some amazing Steampunks out there.
“It has been a very bonding experience and they have been involved with everything from props and set-painting, to their costuming.”
Jemma Bisseker (16) plays the lead role of Alice. “Bisseker is very experienced and has been in many of our Rother Swain Studio productions, playing the titular role in our production of The Little Mermaid last year.
In the role of the gender-bending Mad Hatter is Belinda Taljaard (18), a top matric subject drama learner. The play will be staged with arena seating, looking down on the rabbit hole in a more intimate space.
“It has been a great journey, taking both experienced and inexperienced players into the wonderful world of theatre and the extraordinary world that mathematician, Lewis Carroll, created with his vivid imagination,” said Swain.
Tickets are available at R60 via pearsonhighschool.com and at the door.
Show times will be as follows:
- Thursday, July 11 and Friday, July 12 – 19:00.
- Saturday, July 13 – 14:30 and 19:00.
- Sunday, July 14 – 14:30.
