November 12, 2003
By Lucky Sindane
THE lights of the auditorium dim, the audience shuffles on their seats making sure they have a good view of the stage. The curtains open and the play begins.
But, unlike adult theatre, this crowd doesn't hush and merely watch the goings on on-stage: they join in, give advice to the actors, comment on the action and discuss the pros and cons of each of the characters. This is the world of children's theatre.
A scene from Alice in Wonderland - Photo by Ruphin Coudyzer FPPSA
Twice a day groups of preschool and primary school children enter into the enchanted world of Alice in Wonderland, currently on at the People's Theatre, in the Johannesburg Civic Theatre complex.
The People's Theatre presents two performances daily, with a powerful cast that understands just what it is their young audience expects. They have to be quick with their responses to their audience, while still maintaining the thread of the play.
In Alice in Wonderland the White Rabbit, played by Francois Theron, is an obvious crowd pleaser. Darting between seats and running up and down the aisles, passing comments to the small people wriggling in the seats, the White Rabbit is always complaining about being late, no matter he has several watches on him. The young audience squeals with delight whenever the hint of a whisker appears.
There is, of course, the feisty and curious Alice, wonderfully acted during this particular performance by Banele Mkize, who wends her way through the exotic and somewhat illogical world of Wonderland. The role of Alice is shared between Mkize and two other young actors, Lyndall-Lee Pallozzi and Lerato Mohlamenyane.
All the familiar characters Alice meets on her travels through Wonderland are there - the mercurial White Rabbit never standing still long enough to talk to, the mirror images Tweedledee (Johan Giliam) and Tweedledum (James MacEwan) and the laid-back Caterpillar (Dominique Paquot), who shows Alice how to look at the world from a different perspective. Then there is the exhausting, and never ending, Mad Hatter's tea party, with its odd mix of guests.
And last, but not least, there is the bossy Queen of Hearts, Paquot in another role, ordering "off with their heads" at every turn.
The stage captures the imagination, with its bright, colourful sets and beautiful costumes, particularly those of the King and Queen of Hearts, while the music creates a sense of merriment with the audience singing along.
At the end of Alice in Wonderland one young audience member summed up his feelings saying he loved the show. Said Grenva Savig, a teacher from Solid Foundations, a Johannesburg primary school: "This is a brilliant show for the children and I think they loved it, looking at the way they interacted with the cast."
Alice in Wonderland is currently on at the People's Theatre. Until 4 December there are shows at 9am and 11am during the week and at 10.30am and 2.30pm on Saturdays. On Friday 5 December the shows will be at 9am and 2.30pm.
At the start of the school holidays, from 6 December to the end of the run on 24 December, shows will be at 10.30am and 2.30pm from Mondays to Saturdays.
So, don't be late, or you may miss a very important date with Alice and her friends.
Tickets, available from the theatre or Computicket, are R50 each but there are discount rates for school groups. Kids' club members pay R30 a ticket.
For more information call 011 403 1563.
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