A behind the scenes look at The Duke Theatre prepare to stage another ambitious outdoor summer show - this year's performance is Alice in Wonderland at Williamson Park in Lancaster.
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00:00In the heart of Lancaster's Williamson Park, a summer tradition comes to life as the Dukes
00:21Theatre Company embarks on its ambitious production of Alice in Wonderland.
00:27Set across one, two, three, four distinct stages within the park, this enchanting adaptation
00:34promises to transport audiences into a world of whimsy and wonder.
00:40As the sun-dappled paths and scenic groves transform into Alice's fantastical realm,
00:45the film captures the magic of outdoor theatre while offering an intimate glimpse behind
00:49the curtain.
00:52This film delves into the meticulous preparations that bring this beloved tale to life, showcasing
00:57the dedication and creativity of cast and crew.
01:00From technical rehearsals to costume design, we'll look at the collaborative effort required
01:04to stage such a complex performance.
01:09Each stage within the park presents its own unique challenges and opportunities, but the
01:13result is an immersive theatrical experience, a kaleidoscopic journey through the magical
01:18landscapes of Williamson Park.
01:24Join us as we delve into the madcap world of Queens, Rabbits, Mock Turtles and Cheshire
01:28Cats in this summer's must-see family adventure.
01:53Well, the joy of it is that you get to choose beautiful bits of that park.
02:01I mean, that park is stunning.
02:03So we've chosen a slightly different bit to normal because they've got to look like they're
02:07camping in the first scene.
02:08So it's a very intimate, gorgeous, three-sided space.
02:12Alice Liddle, why didn't you keep up?
02:17Huh?
02:18I was carrying all this.
02:19Then we have our interval and we go up to the monument because that monument's extraordinary.
02:24And on the one side, you'll have the tea party.
02:26So there's the Mad Hatter and the Hare and the Dormouse having their tea party.
02:32And then on the other side of the monument, the Queen is there and we have our croquet
02:36game.
02:37So that's our journey.
02:39And of course, through that, you'll go through the beautiful park and you'll also see things.
02:42So you'll see clues from the Jabberwocky having nabbed Lewis.
02:46You'll see 10 clues along the way of what he's done.
02:49So spot them.
02:50But yeah, it's a journey through Wonderland.
02:53It's a journey through the park.
02:54I want them to sing with us if they can, but also we've got our lovely primetime group
03:08who will be cards and who will also be detectives.
03:12So there'll be interaction as you go along in the park and they'll point out things for
03:16you.
03:17And, you know, you'll be very close to the action and you'll be very part of what's going
03:22on.
03:23And yeah, yeah, we always want a bit of audience participation.
03:26We hope that at least four children come and sit with us at the tea party.
03:30So, you know, yeah, it'll be great.
03:42We head into the park on Wednesday.
03:58So at the moment we're in our rehearsal room just trying to do all those minutiae things
04:03that you don't quite get to do when you're in the park, because in the park it suddenly
04:05becomes about the logistics of being in a bigger space and everything, you know, their
04:10journeys are suddenly bigger than they are in here.
04:13So it's just trying to do the practicalities of it really.
04:16So on Wednesday we go into the park and we go to each set for the first time and we just
04:21rehearse on set without any tech.
04:23And then on Thursday we start putting sound to it and we'll be also teching the Jabberwocky.
04:28So big puppet made by Alison Duddle.
04:30So yeah, so yeah, we've got we've got things to do, but it's got to that point where we
04:35need to be in the park now.
05:05So we did a big audition process.
05:22Helen Longworth is our Queen of Hearts and also our Duchess and our Miss Dodgson.
05:27So she's playing that particular Harridan track.
05:31And Helen's been in a lot of shows that people will know Helen.
05:35And I've worked with Helen before and she's amazing.
05:38It's hard.
05:39It's hard work.
05:40And I think you get to sort of like the second, third week where we are now and it's you've
05:44got a lot you've taken in a lot of information and it's but we're just getting to that really
05:47nice point now, hopefully, where it's everything's just settling and then you can really start
05:53to enjoy it.
05:54It's like you've done the spade work and then you can really kind of, you know, look, take
05:59in the space and kind of relax a bit more and enjoy it when you've not got your script
06:03in your hand.
06:04And you've got because there's a lot of stuff to do as well.
06:05There's a lot of fantastic like puppeteering and business in the show.
06:09So it's nice to be able to concentrate on that now and relax a bit.
06:12Speaking of animals, I need to prepare our dinner.
06:15We'll get a fire going and then I'll set a trap.
06:18A trap?
06:19We'll catch some food and cook it.
06:21What kind of food?
06:22Rabbit.
06:23Yeah, it's it's one of my favourite places to do a play actually.
06:27I love outdoor theatre.
06:28I've done some outdoor Shakespeare before at Houghton Tower in the past and I love that
06:32as well.
06:33And it's it's a vocal challenge and a physical challenge because actually in the park, especially
06:38by the memorial, it's so huge that you can you're very small, actually, it's quite surprising
06:44if you watch.
06:45The best thing you can do is watch other people rehearse and then you really see how big you
06:48need to be compared to what's behind you.
06:50You know, you can easily get sort of overshadowed in a way.
06:55But it's just it's so magic.
06:57And I think especially for kids, I've got an 11 year old and he's grown up going to
07:00these park shows.
07:01And they live quite locally.
07:02And and I just think it it's just fires off children's imaginations, just their faces
07:08when you when you look at them watching it.
07:11It's so magical.
07:13And especially as it starts to go dark and it's like experiences you never forget as
07:16a family, I think.
07:31And then we've got some newcomers to the Dukes in the form of Katie, Kira, Ross and
07:43Eve, all of which are amazing young actors, can all sing their hearts out and and are
07:49working really hard and enjoying the experience of being at the Dukes for the first time.
07:53So it's really good that we've got Helen at the heart of it, who's been there and done
07:56the shows before, done the park shows before, so knows what they're what they're like.
08:01Yeah.
08:20Without giving anything away, there's sort of a real world part of the story, which which
08:24we start with, and then we go into Wonderland.
08:26And when we get into Wonderland, the audience are involved straight away, you know what
08:30I mean?
08:31And so, yeah, you are part of the show and also moving between spaces.
08:35It's still the show and there's people to show you the way that are still in character
08:38and stuff.
08:39So, yeah, it's it's great for kids and they're encouraged to to join in and stuff.
08:43And yeah.
08:45Well, this is the best day ever!
08:48Alice, what do I do now?
08:50Just dance!
08:51Twinkle, twinkle, little bat How I wonder what you're at
08:57We've had a really nice time.
08:59Yeah, just gorgeous and lots of enthusiasm and the music's so good.
09:05And I think that's everyone's voices are blended really well together, which happens to varying
09:10degrees.
09:11With this one for some just it's just one of those little magic things that doesn't
09:15always happen, but everyone's voice is really working well together.
09:18We've really enjoyed the music and the singing.
09:20And so, yeah, it's been great.
09:23Did you know the first card you made in China?
09:26The Tang Dynasty.
09:27Zip it, rabbit features!
09:30Well, I think there's obviously the huge amount of work that goes into it pre-preparation
09:35before the actors get here.
09:37We're sort of like one of the last things to arrive, really.
09:40So I guess the design, you know, the design team would have worked on it from much earlier
09:45back in the year.
09:46I think the auditions were in sort of February, March.
09:49So it's, you know, there's been a lot of time taken to kind of get the mix of people right.
09:54And but there's a huge amount of work that goes on from the Duke's team.
09:57And like I say, the designer, the fantastic people making the costumes who do such a good
10:02job.
10:04So they've all done a lot of work beforehand.
10:06So months, really.
10:07Yeah, months goes into the marketing.
10:09And yeah, it's a big enterprise.
10:12It's an experience, isn't it?
10:14Because the story itself, I mean, we've given it a framing device that obviously the original
10:18doesn't have.
10:20But those characters are so iconic, you know, and I think that's what makes the book so
10:24special is you remember those characters, you remember the journey and how she meets
10:29them, you know, and that's what you're constantly sort of echoing.
10:32But what we've done here is those characters that you first meet in the first scene, who
10:37are her school friends, the bullies, the teacher, the mate, they become all those characters
10:44so that that journey is a bit like Wizard of Oz.
10:47You see them in the first scene and you keep seeing them, but in different guises.
10:51So Miss Dodgson, who's the Harridan teacher, ultimately becomes Queen of Hearts.
10:56So it's about her overcoming her fears, you know, and stopping being bullied and finding
11:03a bit of self-worth, you know, and confidence because, you know, is she going to defeat
11:08the Jabberwocky, which is all about fear, you know, and the monster under the bed.
11:12So someone says to me, this is when I'm the Duchess, someone says to me, are you the Duchess?
11:17And I say, well, I'm not a bag of pork scratchings, darling.
11:20I think my little boy's already has been helping me learn my lines and he's already been quoting
11:24it.
11:25Well, I'm not a bag of pork scratchings, darling.
11:28Wonderland?
11:29Oh my God, why am I like this?
11:30Wait.
11:31I don't know.
11:32I don't know.
11:33I don't know.
11:34I don't know.
11:35I don't know.
11:36I don't know.
11:37I don't know.
11:38I don't know.
11:39I don't know.
11:40I don't know.
11:41Wait.
11:46Wonderland?
12:06This is the coolest thing I've ever seen.
12:19The wonderful designs are by Jess Curtis and she's drawn us these wonderful illustrations
12:25and then we have all the inspiration here.
12:29So they are in a city, when they go into Wonderland they go into a 60s world so we've got a lot
12:34of 60s influences like the monochrome Mary Quant kind of influence and we've got David
12:41Hockney here and loads of just wonderful 60s shapes and images and colours to work with
12:48and then we have all the wonderful designs so each character and each actor has their
12:52own page here and as you can see some of them get changed quite a few times so they've got
13:00several costumes to go through.
13:03So we've been working on getting this all ready, some of the items are bought items
13:10like the very first things they're in sort of modern world so we've got kind of camping
13:14gear and they've all got a colour theme going through so Ross who plays Lewis and then the
13:21Caterpillar, Mock Turtle, Dormouse, he's all in a green, all his costumes have a green
13:28theme running through them, Alice is in the lovely blue, Helen is in all the pink going
13:35to the reds and we've got yellow and lilac so we've got a really strong sort of colour
13:39theme going through them all and then we've got lots of maid costumes as well so we've
13:44got a wonderful team of freelance and freelance makers coming in just for this time to get
13:52all these costumes ready so yeah lots of sewing here and then sewing you can't see at home
13:56as well other people take things and sew them other places because there's a lot of
14:01it so yeah quite a lot.
14:07When we get the actor in the fitting they will say oh I'm actually doing this innit
14:11I'm actually stepping up a ladder or I'm doing such a thing and you realise then what can
14:17be achieved and talking to the director about it as well so for instance the Caterpillar
14:23was originally going to be the trousers and the top but now it's sort of an all in one
14:28kind of great big coat so that's sort of changed slightly. We are hoping that the Mock Turtle
14:36can wear flippers but he's got to try that when he's in the actual woods yet and see
14:39how that goes so there could be things that change during technical rehearsals as well
14:44but yeah we do our best to make it as close as possible but we work very closely with
14:50the designer Jess to make it how she wants it within what we can afford and what everyone
14:58can wear physically and with what they're doing so yeah.
15:19So they get changed and they've got to get changed into in the cabins we've got different
15:25cabins sort of dotted around so we've got a dresser who'll be working on it who we have
15:34like a plot for each person so we work out like how they can get out of something so
15:41nothing has very we have to figure out a way if they can get in and out of it simply and
15:46as quick as possible and then again that's something we'll do in technical rehearsals
15:51yeah so we do have that to think about as well.
16:09There's a lot to think about so if you think about how many all these different costumes
16:13and how many elements there are to each costume when you start in the technical rehearsals
16:17that's the first time the actors will have all of those pieces on together in that situation
16:23so it can be it's just a lot of adjustments and so we have a wonderful team who can help
16:29with all the adjustments and making sure the actors are comfortable and that the designer
16:34and the director are happy with how it looks as well.
16:48I'm awfully fond of the head all the headpieces all the wonderful headpieces that have been
16:53made but we have that Katie Duxbury one of one of the local makers has just has been
17:03working on the caterpillar and it's just wonderful so I think that's that's winning
17:07it at the moment but I really yeah I think it's really going yeah and liking a lot of
17:13the things but that's my favourite at the moment.
17:30So we've got some of these heads here we've had a wonderful maker called Joe Best making
17:35and this is the white rabbit and so we've got these lovely ears here and then we've
17:40got the march hair and with this sort of lovely 60s style kind of flowery and even those old
17:48like fashioned hats and flowery swimming costumes swimming caps and things with it with that
17:53and then we've got the lovely door mouse again lots of really nice ears.
18:04And then we have the mad hatter so we've had a local maker Chris Bissell in to make this
18:11mad hatter so this is a series of hats hang on just move those ears out the way a series
18:19of hats that Katie wears on top of her head again this was quite a challenge to get this
18:27so that they would stay upright on her head so it she was finding it difficult at first
18:34and so it's a matter of very carefully getting the angle of that right so that she can hold
18:39her head up right and then do everything she needs to do as well so and get these wonderful
18:44colours and a stack of all different kinds of hats on and just designed.
19:06And then Chris also made this great fish footman and it's made so it can as Katie is riding
19:12a bike it will all the fins will wobble about as well so yeah that's a great thing as well
19:18based on a 1960s style like mod scooter helmet as well because there's a sort of a lot of
19:24mod influence in this character particularly.
19:37And then back here we have got these some of these are works in progress still but we've
19:42got the queen of hearts as well and so she has the she's very much influenced with the
19:48black and white monochrome and then this bright pop of really strong regal red as well and
19:56then we have the Cheshire cat as well which still needs a little bit of work but that's
20:02it so far so yeah.
20:58So I'm a duck or I'm a clown, me she's quite wild, but I'm too this or I'm too that, no she's really mad, but I'm too skinny or too fat, mad and bad, quick hide yourself behind a tree, ha that's right, it's time you all were scared of me, I've had enough, keep your mouth shut, I've had enough, she's off her nut, I've had enough, the old ways, I've had enough of my days, so I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've had enough, I've
21:28got to let it out, go to someone big and shout, I've had enough, she's had enough, I've had enough, she's had enough, look a rabbit, can you see it, a white one, I think it's really good and I think that Alice is being a bit funny, I think it's really good and there's lots going on so younger children don't get bored, but I think it's like lots going on, it's really fun and like
21:59it keeps you drawn in and there's always something that happens next.
22:04Yeah, there's a lot of action that like carries on the story and it makes it really interesting and fun to watch.
22:10Well, we are card guards. We are card guards.
22:13So we are working with the Queen of Hearts, but we're absolutely petrified of her.
22:17And we're painting the roses red because she hates anything that's not red.
22:22Yes.
22:23Well, that's going to wind her up, isn't it?
22:25We're not quite finished yet, so we need to get on with it.
22:28But actually, we were also detectives earlier because we don't get paid for anything, you know.
22:34No.
22:35Just do it for the fun of it.
22:37What are the crowds like here in Lancaster?
22:40Oh, they're great, yes, yes. I think they're so used to coming here, it's like a family tradition. People come year in, year out.
22:47Enter into the spirit of it, whatever it is.
22:49And it's an amazing view, isn't it?
22:52We're recruiting for next year, the children, for cards, aren't we? Because we want to retire, don't we?
22:58Yeah, absolutely.
22:59I think it's been absolutely fantastic so far. I think the family have really enjoyed it.
23:03Have you been before?
23:04Never been before, no. Well, I've been to the Millennium Park, but never seen anything like this before, no.
23:09So you'll come again?
23:10Definitely.
23:11What do you think to the music and the acting?
23:14Brilliant. I thought the acting was super.
23:16Very funny, wasn't it?
23:17It was very funny. Very funny. And it is good, yeah.
23:20It was very good. All the characters were very humorous. There were some very cringy jokes, though.
23:25It was very good. The singing was on point and good all around.
23:43Well, I've drummed up a crowd. Time to get that suit pretty.
23:51What a total disaster.
23:54That's your fault.
23:56What do you mean my fault? It was your job to cook him.