Delightful festive feast of panto

Tomfoolery of the most amusing kind abounded in the Globe Theatre’s Christmas show Alice in Wonderland: A Pantomime, delighting a sold out audience last Friday night.

Written by United Kingdom panto master Ben Crocker and directed by Penelope Hare and musical director/choreographer Tobias Devereux, the panto featured a 30-strong, all-local cast of both seasoned performers and newcomers.

The show also featured 13 original songs, written by Hare and Devereux, adding silliness and joy to the action.

Taking on the show’s central roles were a team of experienced performers, who worked hard throughout to keep the action flowing and the energy levels high.

Lizzie Thomson was strong in the role of Alice, giving her a core of steel among her confusion with the weird Wonderland, while Tomuri Spicer brought a nice touch of bloke and a good singing voice to the role of Harry.

This version of Alice in Wonderland had two panto queens — the Right Royal Red Queen, played with joyful flair by Nic Turner and the Wrong Royal Red Queen, given an enjoyably nasty twist by April McMillan Perkins.

Both also sang strongly.

Zac Henry was a delightfully wicked Bandersnatch The Wrong Rabbit, stealing every scene, while Leo Douglas was suitably breathless as the White Rabbit.

Mitchell McCarthy was amusingly oddball as the Mad Hatter, while Mikayla Lindsay tackled the Cheshire Cat’s sinuous dance with aplomb.

Libby Maclennan was frankly adorable as The Jabberwocky.

All in all, the production was a success, bringing family fun to the fore in the festive season. The show continues until Sunday.