This energetic and entertaining young cast enthral and delight in a thoroughly enjoyable modern adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. Catch this must-see show before it ends on Saturday.

The white rabbit as a hoodie-wearing yoof? The Queen of hearts as Alice’s own mother? Croquet as a bargaining stage in mourning? It's Alice in Wonderland, but not as we know it.

Alice is a new adaptation of Carroll’s story, by Yorkshire playwright Laura Wade, here performed by the Gobo Theatre Foundation. The foundation is a charity as well as a theatre group, operating a “fair paid is fair played” ethos to give acting opportunities as well as financial and career management advice to budding 16-25 year old actors. This is a rare helping hand in an industry whose cut throat competitiveness, combined with the recent evaporation of government support, is threatening the cultivation of future dramatic talent in this country.

Alice is updated, from Victorian hairband-sporting dreamer, to a modern day teenager whose elder brother has just died in a car crash. The play opens with the funeral reception, in which a bewildered Alice staggers amongst an assorted array of emotionally absent parents, interfering school teachers and well-meaning relatives. As the clichés fly, the emotional horror of the situation intensifies until suddenly the garish figures are mysteriously banished...only to gradually reappear wearing Cheshire grins and carrying piglets.

Carroll’s story has always been understood as more than just an imaginative and amusing children’s story, but this rendering takes its serious side to a new level, interpreting Alice’s journey as a psychotherapeutic escape from a very real tragedy. Its a clever way to understand Carroll’s exploration of the human psyche, combining the dark with the ridiculous with finesse, and it stays close enough to Carroll’s much-loved jokes and characters to keep loyal fans happy. Teenagers, in particular, will likely appreciate this version, especially if they happen to be going through a tough time (and which teenager isn’t?).

Alice constitutes the first ever professional acting job each of the five young stars has had, but they survived a rigorous audition process to get it, and there is absolutely no air of amateur dramatics to be detected in the slick and polished performances they put in. The Alice character has, historically, had a tendency to annoy me with her constant passive confusion and slowness to catch on, but Emmy Owen‘s Alice was refreshingly self-assured and feisty. The stand out performance came from Dean Lamb, who delivered a dazzling array of comic turns including a perfectly bipolar duchess. All the young stars offered an impressive array of accents and characters as they whizzed through numerous costume changes to act a thirty one- character play between the four of them.

Alice was side-splittingly funny as well as chokingly touching, and achieved a delicate balance between surreal humour and realist expression with some outstanding comic performances.

So why not banish the winter blues by going to see this hearty romp through Lewis Carrol’s best loved adventure. You are likely to laugh till you cry, and then cry as you reflect on what really matters in life. Add in the fact that you’ll be supporting young performers in the arts in the process, and who could argue with that?

Alice by Gobo for grown-ups. What a refreshing and mostly action packed play, it is simply fantastic. The young cast work extremely well together, transferring conscientiously and smoothly to their multi-character parts.

These guys will be heading for the big stage soon. Can’t wait to see it again.

This is a must-see show.

I caught this adaptation of Alice in Wonderland in Witney and was really impressed.

Emmy Owen delivers an emotional and convincing performance in the title role as she travels through Wonderland in search of “the heart”. She’s not the traditional Alice – no flowing blonde locks or blue and white dress here – but it is a refreshing change to see a piece that makes her feisty and not afraid to say the occasional, very mild, swear word as it makes her more modern and realistic.

The four other actors, Adam Elliott, Dean Lamb, Suzy Nutt and Reece Miller, take on all the other thirty roles and display an impressive ability to switch character and costume in an instant – some seriously talented young people here. Tweedledum and Tweedledee are a special treat.

Gobo is a new charity that gives young people their first paid job in the theatre. If this is the talent they have to work with then they’re worth supporting.

The script starts slowly in the sombre setting of a funeral, but as soon as Alice enters Wonderland all hell breaks loose. It’s a laugh a minute but gives you lots to think about both in terms of the play and life in general.

Catch this show – you won’t regret it. I’m going to try and catch it again nearer the end of the run to see how its changed. Join me.

Gobo Theatre exists to give young actors experience of touring theatre. Alice is an amazing show. Imagine 5 talented young actors playing over 30 parts with verve and imagination. The playwright has taken the well-known story of Alice in Wonderland and used it in a most ingenious and moving way to illustrate the process of working through bereavement and the pain of loss. This is a 'must-see' show which is touring all round this region, finishing in The Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon at the end of February 2013.

I really enjoyed this adaption. Despite a dark underlying story the actors have superb comic timing providing relief in Wonderland from quite a harrowing reality. I particularly enjoyed Tweedledee and Dum and the Mad Hatter and had a feeling of nostalgia towards a lot of childhood characters. Very good fun and emotional conclusion - well done all round!!

A fantastic performance that you get completely caught up in. Great retelling of the Alice story with very talented actors. Touching, insightful and also very funny!

Really enjoyed this play. The actors were brilliant as were the costume and scene changes. A thought provoking story line but plenty of laugh out loud moments. Go and see it if you can!

Brilliantly performed show. Been to see it twice! A new take on Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups - funny and thought provoking. A very entertaining night out.

Laura Wade's intriguing plot charts the journey of a modern-day Alce coming to terms with the recent death of her brother. Her encounters with Lewis Carroll's characters along the way are humorous and very entertaining. The small cast manages admirably a multitude of quick changes of costume and character as the story proceeds to a satisfying end. It is a delight to see the talent displayed by the director, Amy Sandish, and the young actors.