By Alesha Capone
Students at a Tarneit school will take to the stage in August to perform a musical show inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Titled Wondaland, the script was penned by Good News Lutheran College’s artistic director Callum Taylor and his writing partner Kathryn Yates.
Mr Taylor is also the production’s artistic director and in charge of Wondaland’s music.
He said the show followed the journey of two friends, one of whom turns into the White Rabbit.
“It’s all about friendship and not caring what other people think you and how social media influences our decisions,” he said.
About 40 students from year six to 12 are involved in the show, including roughly 35 young performers who began rehearsing in the first week of January.
Mr Taylor said that he and Ms Yates decided to write Wondaland because the school wanted to stage Hairspray last year, but changing show dates due to COVID restrictions involved a lot of paperwork.
“We found that if we wrote our own show, if we go into lockdown we can workshop things and it’s a lot easier to do,” he said.
Mr Taylor said he has enjoyed seeing the students discover new ways to tell the Alice in Wonderland story and re-interpret the classic tale for a modern audience.
“I think it’s the wonder of Wondaland that they enjoy,” he said.
Tickets to the show, which is two hours in length with a 20-minute interval, are on sale to the general public.
“If you like the performing arts, come along and have a laugh and be inspired,” Mr Taylor said.
Wondaland will be held at 7.30pm on August 5, 6 and 7 at Altona City Theatre, 115 Civic Parade, Altona. Tickets: www.trybooking.com/events/landing/769676
