The story and music behind Joburg Theatre’s Alice in Wonderland

Janice Honeyman’s highly anticipated annual pantomime season is back and this year the internationally acclaimed director presents a Mzansi flavoured adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

I had the privilege of being invited to a sneak preview of the dress rehearsal and the seasoned director and producer’s 39th pantomime reminded me of a question I once asked Honeyman: what is your secret to consistency and not dropping the standard?

South Africa’s nuanced context

Don’t worry about essence. This is the same fairytale you know and love, just with a certain je ne sais quoi that you would never get anywhere else in the world.

It’s important to brush up on your South African humour before stepping inside the auditorium because without this country’s nuances, you’ll be more confused than a seven-year-old Alice meandering through a rabbit hole.

In classic Janice Honeyman style, one of the characters proclaims, “this is more ridiculous than Helen Zille singing ‘Happy birthday’ to a pothole.” This is just one of those ways in which Honeyman uncannily transforms these fairytales into a relatable South Africa-centric context.

Be warned, the guests are forbidden from breathing without royal permission, worse still, while they are underdressed! It’s equally humorous that the set, bright and elaborate, looks more stunning than the said guests.

Honeyman’s ability to recontextualise these adaptations stretches beyond South African colloquial dialect, weaving in intergenerational elements.

Like a true Gen Z, Alice is advised to “chill” when she laments the solitude of having lost her way and being far away from home. Beyond this request though, Alice’s friends remind her of her strength and encourage her not to let the evil Queen dim her light.

The script even throws in a few hashtags and TikTok references here and there, making it clear that this classical story is set in the internet age.

The story behind the music

Depending on your age, you may recognise “Alice, who the heck is Alice?,” borrowed from the Australian band New World’s 1970s hit Living Next Door to Alice that blasted school sokkies (Afrikaans dance) and other social gatherings.

On sports days, school playgrounds would also be abuzz with Queen’s iconic We Will Rock You.

Alice in Wonderland’s musical director Dale Ray cannot pinpoint a single favourite thing about being part of the pantomime’s creative team because while he has done other jobs, he holds this one very close to his heart.

“Janice gives me the opportunity to express and be a bit more creative. I’d say the challenge is that there’s no book and no music. So it takes a lot of brain power, meetings and lots of time on YouTube, listening to the radio and chatting to different people to see what we need musically,” he explained.

But he is clear that it’s more exciting than it is challenging. And he is not the only one who feels this excitement because conversations in the rehearsal room have revealed that many of the cast members have been wanting to do a panto for years and the workshop approach makes everyone feel involved.

The musical choices are more complex than just everyone singing along and enjoying the process. This is more about actually telling a story and amplifying what the characters are trying to communicate.

This is what informs the decision for whether a timeless classic or current song would be a perfect fit for any given scene.

“There's always going to be good versus evil in a panto, there's always going to be a love story. But what’s exciting about Alice in Wonderland is that it’s not just a sugar high. She literally falls down a rabbit hole and that’s not something that usually happens.”

Working on a pantomime in a digital era also means TikTok influences, which breaks musical theatre rules. But it’s still exciting because it gives the show an interactive edge. Interweaving the classical music eras and current trends adds a layer to the pantomime’s intergenerational appeal.