Synopsis

Alice is staying with Granny for the holidays. To break the monotony, she agrees to tidy the attic, which is chock-a-block with confusing rubbish. Granny’s surprised to see some of it; sometimes she thinks, things grow legs and wander off by themselves. Here’s a tin of coronation biscuits, mouldy now; a chamber pot; a pack of playing cards; a doll’s house Alice’s grandad built; and an old book bearing the unlikely name of Lewis Carroll.

Left to her own devices, Alice reads a few lines out loud, then everything gets surreal. A White Rabbit rushes through. Cake appears from nowhere, Alice eats it, then begins to grow… Alice’s tears of distress - according to a passing duck, lory and dodo - almost flood the entire world. To dry out, they engage in a caucus race.

Alice encounters an analytical caterpillar, who counsels her to simply seem to simply be. A Duchess and a Potter appear, with a pig (or is it baby), and then a Cheshire Cat. Next come a Mad Hatter, a March Hare, and a sleepy Dormouse. A tea party ensues, where the Dormouse is implored to read an extremely inferior poem.

Alice finds herself playing the Queen at croquet; but with the rules being made up on the spot, only the Queen can win. When the Cheshire Cat, now merely a head, intervenes, the Queen demands its execution. But is it possible to behead a head, given that there’s nobody from which to lop it off?

A Gryphon and a Mock Turtle teach Alice the Lobster Quadrille, but that’s a mere distraction before the Queen puts Alice on trial. Alice starts to grow again, accidentally overturning the jury. Though Alice argues rationally, the Queen insists she lose her head. Then it starts raining playing cards and Granny’s footsteps can be heard on the steps.

Granny can’t believe the mess Alice has made; she was supposed to be tidying the attic up. But with Alice anxious to tell her about the exciting adventures she’s been on through the afternoon, Granny’s simply relieved that the girl’s no longer bored.

Characters