Players lay on a real hoot of a drama in Leamington park

O FRABJOUS day! Callooh! Callay! I would be perfectly happy to spend any summer afternoon in the company of an enthralled audience enjoying the drama – including if we would get through without a soaking!

We were treated to a version of Alice seamlessly stitched from both Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1872) by Simon Grenville (Mock Turtle) to create a wonderful dramatic script. Rowan Walker Gibbons as both the Caterpillar and the Dormouse and Julian Richards as White Rabbit and the White Knight were both kept very busy. Our narrator (Trevor Humphreys) also directed and the smiling Cheshire Cat (Mike Young) held us in the palm of his paw. The part of Alice was split in two – little Alice (Alice Walker Gibbons) took a hefty swig from the bottle labelled ‘Drink me’ and swirled into BIG Alice (Kate Campbell); excellent throughout.

While the highlight of this thoroughly enjoyable piece was the Mad Hatter’s tea party, the White Knight’s rendition of ‘Twag Brillig’ brought the house down. The Mad Hatter (Martin Minett) owed a lot to Charles Laughton - very funny - and the March Hare with odd shoes (Ronnie Goldstein) solidly superb. Then came the Queen of Hearts (Jenny Roberts); larger than life, Kafka-esque and spoiling for an execution.

The final courtroom scene was a real hoot and finally Alice, facing execution for having no railway ticket, can take no more and runs amok with the axe! Dr Jephson’s Players made a real pantomime of it. This was a real treasure.

Jane Howard

Caption: Dr Jephson’s Players in Alice in Wonderland. Picture submitted.