Take a step into Wonderland at the Millennium Forum

A musical adaptation of a duo of classic books is coming to Derry’s Millennium Forum to wow audiences of all ages.

‘Wonderland’ is a vibrant reworking of Lewis Carroll’s exciting books, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass’ which has been hailed by critics across the UK as a ‘fabulous, fast paced, colourful and lively with a superb original musical score and a simply outstanding cast’,

Dave Willetts is one such member of that cast who plays the frantic White Rabbit who leads Alice through a voyage of self-discovery to find the magic in her everyday life.

Mr Willetts is a singer and actor well-known for treading the boards in the West End of London and was the lead in the London box office smasher, The Phantom of the Opera.

He said that this will not be his first time in Derry and admitted he has a soft spot for the people here.

“I’ve been to Derry two or three times with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and 42nd Street,” he said.

“Everyone thinks when you’re on tour you’re going on holiday but we will get to Derry on Tuesday and do sound-checks and there’s different staging in different theatres.

“Then Wednesday we have a matinee, Thursday and Friday we will be doing rehearsals and various other bits then Saturday we have a matinee and that night we finish so we don’t get that mush spare time.

“But I do not have a problem with the people of Derry, every time they have been a delight. I know you may think I’m going to say this anyway but I really like the Derry people, they’re my kind of people, they enjoy a bit of craic and a joke, which suits me down to the ground. They’ve always been really welcoming to me.”

Mr Willetts told the Derry News what the local audiences can expect: “This production combines Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and Alice is actually a 40-year-old woman with a teenage daughter and is downtrodden by her husband.

“It’s my job as the White Rabbit down in Wonderland, when I hear people say, ‘I don’t want to live in the real world anymore’...up I come and my job is to take them back to Wonderland where they meet the usual characters, the Marsh Hare, Tweedledum and Tweeledee, the Mad Hatter.

“Then they find themselves and become who they want to be.”

“As an actor, you want to play as many varying characters as you can and I’m playing the White Rabbit and playing an animal can be quite challenging.

“I have to look past the fact that I’m wearing a hat with rabbit ears and become the White Rabbit. It’s all about body language; the way I hold my hands or jerk my head.

“I live in the country so I’m lucky enough to have rabbits to watch. The first thing I did when I knew I was doing the shwas to sit for a half an hour and watch the rabbits. They are very jerky and stop and twitch a lot I can understand where Disney was coming from with the song ‘I’m late; I’m late for a very important date!’ I can see where they got that from.”

Mr Willetts said he hopes to return that Derry welcome by entertaining large audiences at the Millennium Forum.

“I hope we get bums on seats because the reviews have been fantastic and this really is a fantastic show,” he said.

“Everyone that comes to see it will enjoy it and will be swept away by all the characters, it’s everything a big musical production is supposed to be.”

Wonderland performs at the Millennium Forum from Tuesday, March 21 to Saturday, March 25. Tickets are now available from the Box Office.  Telephone 71 264455 or visit millenniumforum.co.uk for bookings.