Written and Directed by Sheryn Ali

Music Arranged by James McCutcheon

Tickets: £16.50

Who needs to trek themselves all over the country to catch as many pantomimes as possible when they’re all here, under one banner, in a terrifically smashing and collective production of Alice in Pantoland! From the fairest in the land to the most villainous, every forest critter and sidekick is here for Balerno Theatre Company as they cram as much magic as they can into this feel-good and quality pantomime. But make no mistake; in this pantoland there’s only room for one dame.

Tired of the mundanity of school life, Alice longs for a return to the surreal realm of Wonderland. But when the Queen of Hearts takes up residence in neighbouring pantoland, with a new scheme to lop the heads of every panto character known to the theatre, Alice is brought back into a world of imagination and colour to save the day with a host of familiar and fresh faces. Inviting the audience along for the ride, Alice in Pantoland pulls out all the stops to offer up a show as traditional in structure as it is inventive with its visuals and creativity for a time little ones, older ones, and panto newcomers won’t forget anytime soon.

Carrying the sophistication and annunciation audiences come to expect from Alice, save for a terrific slip back into a more familiar accent thanks to a ‘Drink Me’ bottle of Bru, Kirsten Keggie carries a pleasant and engaging presence, leaving enough room for their co-stars and the audience to have their moment in the spotlight. And with a whole pantoland worth of colourful characters, there’s bound to be a few crowd favourites kicking about. And while there’s an enormous cast of hardworking and deeply talented performers, Cole Buchan’s Knave of Hearts, the bouncing and jittering Tamara Irving’s always-late White Rabbit and Beth Wilcox (shared with Roman Mitchell) as the sleepy Dormouse are immediate crowd favourites. Additionally, the entire Princess collective is present as Lynsey Anderson, Susanna Anderson, Amy Lindsay, Marcie Robertson, and Ava Tulloch provide vocals and dance to Darren Johnson’s lively, if occasionally overcrowded, choreography.

Featuring a plethora of pop and musical classics, Neil Metcalfe’s musical direction with James McCutcheon’s arrangements make Alice in Pantoland into a musical extravaganza to rival any showcase on surrounding stages. Complete with some choice hits, belted with gusto from the cast, Keggie demonstrates their strong vocals with a showstopping Finding Wonderland. Special mention to a sensational rendition of Cabaret’s Willkommen lead by Jessica Russell’s excitable German(ish) Mad Hatter, their hectic manner balanced out by Julie McGarvey (sharing the role with Laurie Cameron-Back) as the sardonic and sarcastic Caterpillar, who guides the audience through the narrative twists and turns and encourages a few quiet members into belting out the whole catalogue of panto phrases.

Visually, this is as striking a Wonderland as can be with Kirsty Dewar’s minimalist, though creative set design cast under MM Sound & Lighting’s colour palette – all filled in with Mark Mackenzie-Smith’s videography, operated with a large backing projection by Max Jones. There’s plenty of vibrancy and impact from a few tricks up the Balerno team’s sleeves, and That Looks Good’s costumes impress as ever – but it’s also the performer inside each of these costumes who sell the show; any dame can throw on a frock but it takes a real George Mackie and Anne Mackie to bring the Duchess and Queen of Hearts to life.

Delivering a perfect panto dame, George Mackie’s Duchess is just as raunchy and full of life as they are traditional in their prowess and flittering across the stage. Their comedy stretches well into the audience interactions and keeps Ali’s terrifically pun-laden script on the cusp of panto-groanworthy with a few knock-out moments of originality and pep. Their chemistry with the entire cast is brilliant, though most often followed by their hapless (but harmless) children Tweedle Dee (Fay Marshall) and Tweedle Dum (Regan Walker) who bring a level of energetic levity and classic farce humour to the entire show. But it’s not all roses and croquet: Anne Mackie’s suitably blood-thirsty and petulant Queen of Hearts rivals any panto baddie for headcount and has the entire room booing and hissing as the dominant every scene – with a brilliant entrance, clearly relishing their villainous role with gusto.

Ali’s direction maintains a strong sense of pacing throughout the initial act and into the second, with the show only beginning to feel a trifle lengthy in the final couple of scenes as the production readies itself for one climactic number to bow out. Throughout the adventure, their take on the tale is chock-a-block with every panto classic one might hope for – and in a year where the term ‘panto’ is used a touch loosely by some productions, to see them all gathered in Church Hill is a welcome and excitable prospect.

Chuck on your best gear (bring a warm hat) and throw yourself down the Rabbit hole once again because one trip to Wonderland is never enough – and for this sell-out pantoland extravaganza, audiences are in for a delight of the festive season with all the traditional trimmings and a heap of cracking moments which propel Balerno theatre Company’s Alice in Pantoland well ahead of fellow panto choices. You’d be off (with) your head to miss this spectacular communal and pun-tastic treat.

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