Today is Alice’s birthday.
Her mother has invited their noisy, eclectic family to a tea party to celebrate, but Alice would rather play on her own, building a house of cards. And Dad would just rather play chess.
How can Alice avoid her annoying brothers?
Will her strange family even notice that she’s missing?
And will she ever get to meet the Topsy Turvy Alice in the mirror?
Suddenly, Alice finds a way to enter a world of adventure – a Wonderland.
Ideal for family entertainment or youth theatre production.
Cast:
Large cast with opportunities for ensemble scenes. 14 with doubling as suggested, or flexible as appropriate for school/youth groups
Characters:
DAD / HATTER – M
ALICE – F
MUM / CHESHIRE CAT / SEVEN OF SPADES / Lobster – F
BLACK QUEEN / also plays AUNT JET – F
WHITE QUEEN / also plays AUNTIE BLANCH – F
WHITE RABBIT / HUMPTY DUMPTY – any
GRYPHON / TWEEDLEDEE / DEREK / Frog Footman – Any
MOCK TURTLE / TWEELEDUM / DUGGIE / Hedgehog – Any
MARCH HARE / FIVE OF SPADES / Flamingo / Lobster – Any
DUCHESS / Cousin JESS / CATERPILLAR / Lobster – F
KING OF HEARTS / Also plays UNCLE REX – M
QUEEN OF HEARTS / Also plays AUNTIE ROSE – F
KNAVE OF HEARTS / Also plays JACK / Lobster – M
TWO OF SPADES / DORMOUSE / Hedgehog / Lobster – Any
Additional ensemble roles:
Lobsters, Fish, Flamingoes, Hedgehogs, Playing cards, Courtroom jury/audience.
An excerpt from Finding Alice
ACT 1
Scene One – The Family Birthday Party
A lounge, eclectically furnished, but is clearly inhabited by a modern family. There is a large mirror, over a low (empty) fireplace SR. There is a dining chair upstage of the fireplace. There are Birthday cards on top of the mantle. Loud music is playing. All the characters are shouting to make themselves heard over the music.
A curtain is pulled along the length of stage right – this covers an identical fireplace to stage left but a mirror image.
Aunt Jet, Aunty Blanch, Aunt Rose are arguing. Jack has a plate full of jam tarts, which he is eating. Derek and Duggie are fighting centre stage. Dad, wearing ear defenders, is sitting on a downstage left dining chair, playing a quiet game of chess on a small table. Alice sits on the floor playing patience on a small coffee table downstage right, with traditional playing cards.
Mum Jack – you’ll be sick. (She takes his plate)
Cousin Jess enters, with a soup ladle.
JESS (She sneezes) Auntie, I’ve put too much pepper in the soup!
MUM (She gives Jess the plate of jam tarts) Don’t worry dear – nobody eats soup in the summer anyway. Derek, Duggie – stop that right now!
(Jess exits. Derek & Duggie continue to fight, with frying pans as shields, and wooden spoons as swords.)
MUM Jet, Rose, Blanche – Come on. Let’s leave this rowdy lot to sort themselves out. How about a quiet game of croquet? Rex, would you be umpire?
Mum hustles them off stage. Off stage, we hear them agreeing ‘What a good idea’, Such a racket in there’, ‘Derek, Duggie – stop it! Play nicely!’’, “Why don’t you all play hide & seek?” etc. Jess sneezes.
JACK Hey – that’s a brilliant idea. Shall we play hide and seek?
DEREK / DUGGIE We’ll Hide! (They race off stage)
DEREK Come on Alice. Come and play! (He exits, counting) I’ll count to a hundred! One, Two, Three, Four …
ALICE (Sighs) Thank goodness they’ve gone. (Pause. She looks around.) Where can I hide?
DAD Ha! (Alice jumps.) I see what you are trying to do!
ALICE (She goes to Dad.) What are you doing Dad?
DAD A black pawn took a white pawn… but I think there is a greater plan at foot.
ALICE But don’t you know? You’re playing against yourself… you must know what the plan is?
DAD Yes – but… You see, Alice… the chessboard is divided into sixty-four squares. The white army tries to win and the black army tries to win. It’s a battle!
ALICE With soldiers?
DAD Exactly. Look – Here are the Kings and Queens they are fighting for.
ALICE How funny they look! (She picks up the Black Queen)
DAD Oi! Don’t spoiling the game. Keep them in their right squares.
ALICE (She replaces the chess piece.) When you play against yourself, don’t you want to cheat?
DAD Do you ever cheat?
ALICE Oh No! I never do! I always pretend I’m two people. It’s more fun.
DAD And a little bit mad! Never take yourself too seriously, Alice. It never hurts to be a little topsy turvy occasionally.
ALICE Can I be a Queen!
DAD No, Alice. You can’t start at the end.
ALICE There’s a prawn on the floor. (She picks up a white pawn off the floor.)
DAD Pawn, not prawn! The twins knocked the board. Here – this is you. (He points to a square for the white pawn.)
ALICE Hello, Alice! (She replaces the pawn on the board.)
DAD And now you are going to move it to here.
ALICE Let me do it. (She moves the pawn.)
DAD When you have travelled all the way across the board, and haven’t been captured by the enemy, then you can be a Queen.
ALICE Why do people always fight battles with kings and queens? Derek and Duggie are always fighting.
DAD That’s because your brothers are twins – and boys like fighting.
ALICE I’m glad I’m not a boy. I’d much rather be a Queen. (Alice picks up the picture cards from her game of clock patience.) There are Kings and Queens in playing cards too. Look! (She shows him a card.) The Queen of Hearts is very cross-looking? Looks like she wants to bite your head off.
DAD Huh … like your Aunt Rose!
ALICE She does! And look at that smirk – the Knave looks like Jack!
DAD Don’t be rude, Alice. He doesn’t look anything like that! It’s just a silly grin.
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