Gateway Theatre Presents In Wonderland

Gateway Theatre is closing out its 2021-2022 season with the BC premiere of In Wonderland — an imaginative and contemporary retelling of Lewis Carroll’s classic novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. With only three actors, Sarah Roa, Natascha Girgis (Nine Dragons, 2019), and Graham Percy, they fantastically portray all the story’s iconic characters and transform right before the eyes of the audience.

Gateway Theatre Presents In Wonderland

• Where: Gateway Theatre (6500 Gilbert Rd., Richmond)
• When: April 7-16, 2022 at 7:30pm except Sundays & Mondays
  • Pay What You Will Preview: Thursday, April 7 at 7:30pm
  • Matinees: Saturday April 9, Sunday April 10, Wednesday April 13 at 2:00pm
• Tickets: From $29, available online now or call the box office at (604) 270-1812. Suitable for all ages, recommended for ages 6+.

Theatre magic will be fully realized onstage through projections, extraordinary scenic elements, lighting illusions and shadows, costumes, and puppetry, which all play a vital role in the storytelling. Audiences will step into a dazzling world of imagination, absurdity, and abstraction, which will transfix them throughout a wild, and sometimes outrageous world of Wonderland.

Commissioned by Alberta Theatre Projects, playwright Anna Cummer was inspired to create In Wonderland after reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with her children. Carroll’s fantastical, whimsical world was a welcome escape for them. Cummer presented her vision of the story as a variety show with everything from clown acts to musical numbers, complete with slap-stick and poetry. Each scene becomes a fast-paced vignette tied together by the aesthetics and performance style of Vaudeville, sure to entertain and delight both children and adults.

“We follow a young girl navigating the topsy-turvy world of social interactions and skirting the edges of adulthood,” says Cummer who wrote In Wonderland as a coming-of-age story. This angle makes the tale more timeless and relevant.

“Carroll’s novels have not faded in the slightest by time,” says director Haysam Kadri. “Alice’s adventures will continue to intrigue us for countless years to come, and the story fittingly taps into the disorienting feelings of pandemic living: the bizarre dreams, the confusion around time, appetite for escape, and perpetual anxiety. There’s no better parallel in time to tell this story.”

Gateway Theatre will be offering a Pay-What-You-Will performance to provide access to those who may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend. As tickets are limited, Gateway Theatre will be reaching out to specific communities that may benefit from this initiative before opening it up to the general public.

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Taking into account patrons’ varying comfort levels, Gateway Theatre has decided to keep all performances of In Wonderland with reduced audience capacity to accommodate physically distanced seats. Gateway Theatre will be adhering to the most current health and safety guidelines established by the Province of BC, including checking proof of vaccination upon entry. The health and safety of all patrons, artists, instructors, students, volunteers, and staff is Gateway Theatre’s top priority.