Cast of Alice leave us in an Easter Wonderland

Tradition may dictate that panto takes place from early December, but when there’s such a good show on offer why not resurrect the fun when the kids are off school a few months later?

The headline act may have been magician Paul Daniel (Alice’s father/King of Hearts), but what was great about this Magic Beans production was that there were no stand-out performers - they were all brilliant!

After getting “not a lot” and “that’s magic” out of the way, the corny catchphrases were thankfully done and dusted and we settled down to see Paul’s first illusion.

His “rabbit out of a top hat” trick started off as a bit of a (deliberately) bumbling act, and my children were in stitches when a fake rabbit did a runner - or to be precise drove off stage in a miniature car!

However it all ended with gasps, as a cute white rabbit magically appeared in Paul’s hands and ultimately transformed into the lovely Debbie McGee.

We were then treated to some clever projected imagery on the big screen as Alice - the eggs-cellent (sorry) Lucy Reed - falls down the rabbit hole.

That’s when the real fun begins as we discover the crazy characters of Wonderland.

First up it’s the Mad Hatter (Ant Payne), who is unimpressed by the audience when he tries to whip them up to produce a noisy greeting. That can only mean one thing. Yes, one poor chap in the crowd is picked on, has the theatre spotlight dazzle him, and has to do it on his own.

Next we have Cook (Robert Pearce), who certainly knows how to make a meal of the role. Chucking crisps, eggs and sweets into the baying crowd, he then asks if anyone in Dunstable is in need of a square meal before an Oxo cube is launched into Row Z.

The Cheshire Cat (Jasette Amos), Butterfly (Laura Jane Matthewson), Queen of Hearts (Leon Craig) and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (Steve Hewlett) all join the party as the riotous antics are cranked up to full-blown farce.

Cook and Hatter have a great tongue-twisting challenge which centres on the posting of a parcel by postman, plane, and finally Porky the purple pig. The 12-piece dinner set is probably in 148 pieces by the time they’ve finished.

It’s then Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum’s turn to impress thanks to ventriloquist Steve (a 2013 finalist in Britain’s Got Talent). This part of the show had by five-year-old son almost crying with laughter.

“Ladies like to be wooed,” Steve tells his dummy. “I like to be really rude,” is the reply.

The Mad Hatter’s tea party provides plenty of great gags, particularly when they’re preparing the food.

When Cook says: “You’ve really got to kneed (need) the dough”, it results in a ridiculous Barry White-style serenade of the bread.

Paul Daniels then returns for a rather repetitive card trick which he performs identically to three sections of the audience... “I’ll keep doing it until I get a big cheer!,” he warns.

As the villain of the piece is the Queen of Hearts, that’s the perfect excuse for an impressive Queen megamix featuring all the greatest hits, including, erm, “Wonderland Goo Goo, Wonderland Ga Ga”.

And the audience loved the crazy “If I Were Not In Wonderland” song which resulted in all sorts of mishaps as the cast slipped, slided, bumped and bruised their way through the many verses. It culminated with the Cheshire Cat crawling off the stage after slipping twice on the way and having to be shoved off on her hands and knees by the Hatter. Great stuff.

If you don’t know by now if Easter can be a good time for panto? Then...oh, yes it is!

> Alice in Wonderland runs until today (Easter Monday). Call the box office 01582 602080 to get your last-minute tickets.

> Robin Hood and the Babes In The Wood is the Christmas panto at the Grove this year, starring Alan Fletcher from Neighbours, Andy Abraham from the X Factor, plus the returning Steve Hewlett (hurrah!)

For more details call the box office on 01582 602080.