Gloriously Surreal Youth Theatre

Haddenham Youth Theatre presented an ambitious — and successful — programme of three performances on Friday 27th / Saturday 28th January at Haddenham Community Junior School.

'Domby Dom' was performed by the younger members and 'Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass' by the senior members. The two plays complemented each other in their zany and somewhat surreal action.

'Domby Dom' started enigmatically but gradually it became clear that the format was "a play within a play". The initially puzzling story was enhanced by naming the characters anonymously as "One" to "Twenty Two" and "Helpers 1/2/3" and, of course, not forgetting "Rats".

The young actors all played their parts with great assurance. They worked well as a team and obviously enjoyed portraying the strange world they had invented. They clearly understood the humour of the bizarre antics of the play and took the audience along with them.

After the break, another large cast, this time of the senior members, presented 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking Glass' with Louisa Quinn and Emily Fowler playing the respective Alices with great confidence.

These were challenging plays but all the young actors mastered the strange language in the poetry and dialogue and brought the characters to life. Once again, the senior group played as an ensemble whilst giving convincing individual performances.

The imaginative, sturdy set and the ingenious costumes brilliantly reflected the fantasy of these well-loved stories.

Director (and Leader of Haddenham Youth Theatre) Lynne Colley and Assistant Director Angie Oakley were ably supported by their back stage crew and design team.

All involved in these plays are to be congratulated on yet another very enjoyable production.

Margaret and Alan Watkins

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