TITLE: A very mad tea-party
RECOMMENDED AGE GROUP: Level 3 (1º/2º ESO)
CHARACTERS
(Main Characters and the narrator will be doubled up, so 18 actors will be necessary)
- Narrator
- Alice
- The Hare
- The Hatter
- The Dormouse
- Trees (4 of them)
SYNOPSIS
Alice is a nine-year-old girl who lives with her well-off family in a big house in a quiet residential area outside an old University town in England. Alice’s life runs along nicely, growing up safe in her upper-class world of sensible routines.
One sunny afternoon, while she is sitting in a park nearby with her elder sister, spots a white rabbit which, to her amazement, can’t stop repeating to itself “I shall be too late”. Alice decides to venture to follow him down the rabbit hole and her journey through Wonderland begins.
This play is about the moment when Alice gets to the March Hare’s house and finds a rather peculiar tea-party in front of the house. There is a very large table under a tree and the Hare, a Hatter and a dormouse are having tea at it. Alice gets closer and starts an impossible conversation with them full of nonsense, riddles, extravagant versions of nursery rhymes and a few good-fun moments.
In the end, Alice decides to continue her search for the white rabbit in the hope to find some sort of sense in this illogical world so different from the real one. Or should we say similar?
CHARACTER OBJECTIVES
- Narrator:
He/She appears at the beginning and at the end of the play. He/She addresses to the audience to explain why Alice wants to get to the March Hare's house, how she came to this crazy world and what she decides to do next.
- Alice:
Clever, assertive and resourceful, Alice knows exactly what she wants and never feels intimidated by strangers, no matter how weird they look or act. Alice is an open, talkative girl and speaks remarkably well for her age. She is well-behaved and aware of social etiquette, but knows how to make a stand when necessary.
- The Hare
Dressed in smart clothes and with delicate manners, he is often moody. He can change from being polite and attentive to behave in a rude, even aggressive way. He clearly dislikes Alice’s presence at the tea-party.
- The Hatter
Peculiar mix of extravagant clothes and gloomy look, he is clearly insane although he always speaks as if he were normal and the others the ones who went mad. He speaks slowly, explaining things carefully in a rather patronising way. He also wants to get rid of Alice to continue his mad tea party ritual.
- The Dormouse
Lazy and sleepy, he alternates his dozing with sudden fits of energy which give him the stamina to tell absurd stories. He seems to feel happy in his indolence and never feels offended by the Hare and the Hatter’s punching or pushing. He feels a bit curious about Alice at first although he is too selfish to care for anybody else.
- The trees
They stand around the tea table and make comments among themselves about the mad party and their mad hosts. They try to help Alice understand what is going on and in the end show her the door to exit that place.
CLASS ORGANISATION
This is a play thought for 14 students, if we double-up actors. If the group is smaller, no doubling-up will be required. For larger groups, you can add more “trees” as a sort of chorus or even add some other characters from the story like the White rabbit or the Cheshire cat.
To prepare the play, I will give students copies of an adapted version of the chapter of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland the play is based on. My recommendation is to avoid watching the film versions of the story, as they can influence too much the students’ performance. For me, the most interesting part of the play is to explore the absurdity of some social conventions as well as to reflect on how fun and crazy “stretching” language can be. To work on these points, you can ask students to pay special attention to puns and references to common sayings and established rules in the text. It is also advisable to provide student with several examples of traditional English nursery rhymes and riddles so that they can understand the parodies which appear in the text.
SCENE BREAKDOWN
(All the scenes are set in a wood. Tall trees and some bushes and a narrow, tall house in the background. In the centre of the stage there is a long table, long enough for 14 people. The table is already prepared for tea, there are tea cups and sauces, one big teapot, sugar and a milk jug, also some toast, butter and marmalade. Sitting at it there is a Hare with long ears wearing a bow tie and black jacket, the Hatter wearing formal clothes and a huge top hat and the Dormouse (half a mouse, half a squirrel). Although it is a very long table, the three of them are next to each other, the hatter and the hare on the same chair and the dormouse sleeping with his head on the table.
There are four trees around the table. There is a red door in the trunk of the tallest one.)
SCENE 1
Alice appears on stage and steps in front of the table. The narrator tells the audience her story. Alice addresses to the Hare and takes a seat. Their conversation starts. From time to time, the trees giggle and make comments.
SCENE 2
The Dormouse wakes up and starts telling the story of the three sisters. The party goes on with Alice trying to have some tea and toast and the hatter, the Hare and the Dormouse moving around the table.
SCENE 3
Alice is getting really angry and then the trees explain to her how she can leave the place. While the Hatter and the Hare are trying to put the dormouse into the teapot, Alice leaves through the door on the trunk tree.
