Peter and Alice: A Review

So my Oxfordian friend, Simon, who was the first to tell me about the play Peter and Alice finally posted his review.  Do check it out; here's an excerpt to tempt you:

Peter and Alice goes a bit mad - in the best possible way; in a way that is perfectly in keeping with Wonderland and Neverland. The bookshop set is pulled up to the ceiling, and behind is a land with Tenniel and picaresque illustrations intermingled. J.M. Barrie, Lewis Carroll, Alice, and Peter (the fictional characters in these last two cases) all join the stage, and the dialogue whips back and forth among them all. Childhood memories mix with retrospective reservations, which interweave with the excited shouts of the childish characters, or the justifications of the authors. It should be confusing, but the excellent writing and acting mean that it is not. So many tones come together - there are moments of nostalgia, and seeing Judi Dench take on the gait and manner of a young girl is quite breathtaking to see; there are moments of recrimination; of guilt; of confusion; of regret....  [Yet] The midpath between nostalgic indulgence and Nihilistic noir has been expertly judged - and perfectly acted by a brilliant cast, led, of course, by Dench and Whishaw.

 
I've sent out inquiries about a chance to see it... so, stay tuned ;)

Wednesday Creatives: Neverland, Wonderland, and the British Stage

There are some plays I hear about that make me want to hop on the next plane to London.

Today I found out about one of those:

Peter and Alice

As you might be able to surmise,  the play is about the two individuals who inspired the most iconic British children's stories: Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland.  It is a fictional account of what might have transpired at the true-life 1932 meeting between an 80 year old Alice Liddell Hargreaves and a 35 Peter Llewellyn Davies.

Intrigued yet? Well I haven't told you the best part!

The best part?

Peter = Ben Wishaw

Alice = Judi Dench

"Get outta town?" - I know, I want to!

Yes, not exactly Q and M, but reunited just the same.

These are two of my favorite British Thespians!

Logan's play explores the loss of innocence and darker outcomes of sharing a name and identity with a fictional character.  We know from the actual lives of Peter and Alice that while the latter proudly basked in being the inspiration of beloved Alice, the former disdained it, often feeling haunted by the invisible presence of his eponymous character until he committed suicide.

The production physically reproduces the characters - as well as creators Carroll and Barrie - to create imagined conversations and confrontations.

Overall, I think this would be a fascinating look at literature, inspiration, innocence, facade, and identity.

A friend of mine from Oxford is going to see it this weekend (I'll share his review), and I'm trying to practice the 10th commandment, subpoint 3.35, which clearly states, "Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's proximity or accessibility to the West End."

Help me, Lord.

**Update: his review!**

In the meantime, I'll just be scouting out Digital Theatre, etc. searching for any chance to see it for myself :)

Thought this was cute! #disneylove