Waterside Musical Society 
Fawley Royal British Legion, Blackfield, Southampton 
Darren Funnell
29 October 2025
Alice The Musical at the Fawley Royal British Legion, presented by the Waterside Musical Society in their first big cast, toe-tapping production since 2019, is a bright, scrappy tumble through Wonderland. It is part pantomime, part fever dream, and is performed with that ever-charming community-made spirit that brings everyone together to do the thing they love. With hand-painted sets, costumes crafted from household odds and ends, and a cast brimming with enthusiasm, it’s a show that wins a lot of love with its ‘something for everyone’ approach. A lively, local adventure full of good spirit, masks and glue-gun glory. This homegrown tumble down the rabbit hole offers a night of colour, chaos and charm. Even if it occasionally wobbles with entrances and exits, and some inevitable first-night sound issues, it wins through because the Director, Christine Talbot, knows that it has a big heart to it. Finding that heart makes all the difference.
The opening number, ‘Wonderland, is a bright and bustling number that immediately fills the stage with bodies, woodland spirits, and barely contained enthusiasm that continues throughout. Hannah Worlock’s Alice is a confident presence, gamely anchoring the story as she plummets from logic to lunacy. Her rendition of ‘Dinah’ later in the show provides a touching reminder that this is, at heart, a story about finding one’s way even when the way keeps changing.
The White Rabbit, Wendy Burgess, scampers on next with “I Am Late,” delivered at breakneck pace. It’s a spirited turn, and a welcome returnee throughout the show, even if she (and others) occasionally fight against the rebellious sound system, keeping pace with the equally enthusiastic, talented and fulsome four-piece orchestra led by Christopher Wortley.
Once Alice lands in the ‘Sea of Tears’, we’re treated to some of the most inventive low-budget staging of the evening. Designer Dave Sutherland and his extensive hard-working stage team, conjure rolling waves out of blue chiffon, shimmering lights, and what might once have been a shower curtain. The cast gamely splash about, led by the choreographer Helen Sanderson’s Dodo in ‘The Caucus Race’, a gloriously shambolic number that feels like a school sports day gone wrong. And all the better for it.
The Caterpillar scene, featuring ‘You Are Old, Father William’, is a standout of hippie floaty transformation! Huw Davies’s Caterpillar zonally puffs on a shisha whilst a lot of retired peace and love shake their butterfly stuff around him. Transforming, well, half transforming, at least on this occasion.
Before the interval, we visit the Duchess’s kitchen for “Speak Roughly to Your Little Boy.” Christobel Thomas’s Duchess and Jan French’s Cook attack the number with relish (Pepper!).
Act One peaks at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. This is a scene that could have stepped straight out of a pantomime and probably wandered back in for good measure. Ross Burton’s Hatter leads ‘Facts’ with a mixture of whimsy and barely concealed chaos, while Alan Harris’ March Hare and Sarah Graham’s Dormouse add layers of gleeful confusion. I might suggest lowering the table, however, as the cutout teapot and cake did, rather appropriately, sometimes chop off the performer’s head during this scene.
Act Two – ah – the royal entrance: the Queen of Hearts (Helen Sanderson, again) takes command of flamingo croquet and has a barmy line in comic fury. I loved the partnership between the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon. When we reach the courtroom scene, ‘Guilty’ and ‘Him Ourselves and It’ the full company, and I appreciate every one of you, are let loose once more in a riot of giddy absurdity. By the final reprise of “Dinah,” everyone on stage (and quite possibly backstage) seems gloriously relieved. And so are we, in the best possible way.
What really carries this Alice is its commitment, fun, the mammoth cast and crew enjoying the chance to be part of something silly. The perfect half-term tonic. The costumes, Frances Burnett, are lovingly cobbled together from everyday items and as such are a triumph of imagination over budget. The painted sets, meanwhile, are delightfully childlike in the best sense. And through it all, there’s that unmistakable community-theatre magic. The collective willpower of performers, crew and audience all in on the same joyful conspiracy. ‘Alice – The Musical’ wears its love proudly. It’s cheerful, chaotic and crammed with heart. It runs each night at 7.30pm until the 1st November where there is an additional matinee and 12.30pm. It’s a very warm and lovely welcome provided by all the Waterside Musical Society. Go down the rabbit hole. If you wonder at Wonderland, you will still be happy to have gone on the adventure.
