Blue Butterfly Studios 
Rose Theatre, Barton Peveril Sixth Form College, Eastleigh 
Anne Waggott
25 July 2025
“Blue Butterfly Studios have provided a magnificent training ground for Eastleigh’s budding youth performers – and I can’t wait to see where this may lead them next!”
This is the conclusion of my review for Blue Butterfly Studios last summer show, The Little Mermaid Jr… Fast forward 13 months to find out just where that might be and I landed in a magical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland – and I loved it!
Blue Butterfly Studios is based in Eastleigh Town Centre (at the Swan Centre) providing in their Dramatix group fun dance and musical theatre classes to children of all ages – and, boy, do they bring the fun and sheer joie de vivre of performing to The Rose Theatre stage! With the broadest smiles beaming from their faces, it is clear that this is exactly where they all want to be – and they take the audience right down that rabbit hole with them into the marvellously surreal Wonderland!
There are no weak links at all amongst the ensemble, each bringing a radiant smile, fabulous energy and brilliant characterisations to their individual and collective roles. The atmospheric lighting and gobos, vibrant and stylish costumes (so many of them!), vast array of props, and storybook scenery combine to provide the visual aesthetics. There is an eclectic array of music (some of which would challenge even the most experienced of singers, yet is performed here with great musicality), and a wide range of dance styles, choreographed to showcase each individual to their best. This is a brilliant and memorable ensemble production – and yet it would be very remiss of me if I do not mention my personal highlights, with apologies to those I know I have inadvertently missed out – there were so many to choose from!
Poppy Haylett is delightful as the eponymous Alice, once again performing with style, confidence, a crystal clear voice, and wonderful facial expressions capturing a wide range of believable emotions, as Alice meets the unexpected and mysterious characters of Wonderland.
Rosie Fern has consolidated her standing as a principal, with her dynamic, charismatic and iconic performance as The Queen of Hearts elevating the entire production up another notch. Once again, her stage presence, comedic acting and singing shows a maturity beyond her years, while she clearly enjoys enthusiastically ordering “Off with their heads!”.
Grace and Eva Fern are comedy gold as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, with superb timing, physicality and delivery of their dialogue, and I adored their fluidity of movement when dancing.
Bella Botto is the lovely voice and characterisation of the enigmatic Cheshire Cat, although her two uncredited peers are also essential in helping her bring to life the mystical and ethereal aspects of this epic character.
There are so many delightful cameos, from the youngest blossoming Live Flowers (Florence Higgins, Amelia Elliott, India Gibbon, Emily Davis, Connie Drever), via the litter of little Rabbits (Amelia Elliott, Florence Higgins, Robyn James, Ottilie Perkins and India Gibbon), to the hilarious antics at the Mad Tea Party (Freya Gray as The Hatter, Ellie Smith as The March Hare and Fleur Sexton as the cutest little Doormouse [sic] you are ever likely to see!).
As with many youth dance-based groups, the company is made up of predominantly girls and it’s a pity that the local boys are missing out on the fabulous opportunity to get involved. However, the two boys onstage here are absolutely relishing their roles, especially Ethan Whyte as The King of Hearts. There may have been issues with his mic during this particular performance, but he didn’t let that affect him at all. He was confident, charismatic and clearly having the best time encouraging The Queen to cry out her favourite catchphrase!
Things can go wrong in live theatre and mics were an issue that can’t be ignored on this occasion. However, it’s how you deal with life when events don’t go according to plan that builds resilience and resourcefulness, and the cast didn’t miss a beat with any technical hiccups – a highly commendable achievement and something that many adult groups can struggle to achieve.
Creative Director James Henderson has faithfully and respectfully brought together the most-loved and recognisable characters from Carroll’s two books, Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass, into a new stage adaptation which allows the entire cast, irrespective of age and stage of development, to shine. Together with Director/Choreographer Amy Fern, they have created an absolutely charming and endearing production which deserves to be seen by more than ‘just’ the children’s family and friends.
Reflecting back on last year’s show, it is also obvious that this group of talented youngsters, under the guidance of James and Amy, are developing not only their performance skills in acting, singing, dancing and puppetry, but also their theatre disciplines of teamwork, focus, commitment and backstage skills. The cast are mostly responsible for the scene changes and achieve these with precision while maintaining characterisations, allowing the scenes to flow seamlessly, keeping up the excellent pace throughout – and there are an awful lot of props to navigate! Normally, seeing the cast waiting in the wings to make their entrance would be a negative for me, but here it highlights just how focused and immersed they are in the show. It could be distracting to see the audience as they wait, but not one of them broke their concentration to wave at their families or miss an entrance – bravo!
There are three more opportunities to immerse yourself in this highly entertaining and heartwarming production, with further performances at 1:30 pm and 6:30 pm on Saturday 26 July and 1:30 pm on Sunday 27 July. I can think of no better way to enjoy pure escapism!
