Johnny McKnight takes us doon the rabbit hole with Alice in Weegieland

• Lorna Irvine
• 7 December 2017

An enjoyable romp with a fine script and eclectic score

With all the cheek-in-check, plus luscious design from Kenny Miller, this Scottish take on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland starts off with gusto, as the titular girl, played with pluck by Daisy Ann Fletcher, dreams of pirouetting her way to success. In a ballet school run by the rancid, the more aggressive than passive aggressive Fraulein Rot (Darren Brownlie) quickly puts paid to any notions of a future for the lost girl. A soupcon of Black Swan references is quickly dispensed with though, as the show falls into the Scots cliché district of Weegieland.

This is an Alice with mother issues, as the peerless Brownlie doubles up as the Red Queen, a sexually-deranged leggy matriarch with a vice-like grip on her son the Knave of Hearts (Scott Fletcher, a rather fabulous and flamboyant Kelvinsider).

Ross Brown's eclectic score – from a Sparks-like number, to a calypso paean to tea – are a catchy addition, although some of the pop references (Lady Gaga, the Kardashians) feel somewhat dated.

McKnight's script is fine, with all the wordplay in place, but the pacing is a little off, with over-extended scenes which could use a sharp pruning from director Miller. Not vintage McKnight, but an enjoyable romp nonetheless.

Alice In Weegieland, Tron Theatre, Fri 1 Dec–Sun 7 Jan 2018.