The Kaos Alice

Written and Directed by XAVIER LERET
The Unity Theatre - 7th November

Reviewed by Adam Ford

This adaptation of the Alice stories somehow manages the remarkable feat of being both surreal and realistic. Taking Lewis Carroll’s Victorian fantasy, they give it a distinctly grown-up modern slant, and examine the rationalised insanity of the adult world today.
As we follow Alice down the rabbit-hole, we discover that her baby has turned into a pig and gone missing. In her desperate attempts to find her child, she is frustrated by wall after wall of bureaucrats who stand in her way. Her lawyer (who just happens to be a rabbit) turns-out to be more of a hindrance than help; files and documents keep going missing, and officials are spending all their time and money on tea parties.
The Kaos Theatre group is gaining an impressive reputation for its contemporary versions of venerable standards, having previously tackled Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. By combining witty, incisive dialogue with spectacular visuals, the company brings the story to life in a subversive production that left the audience nodding in appreciation.
If you have ever been left exasperated by jobsworth pen pushers, or felt that your life is out of control, then this is the play for you. If you haven’t felt like that maybe you are the one out of touch with reality.