Peter and Alice - Noel Coward Theatre

Review Summary

Average Rating: 4 out of 5 stars based on 10 review(s)



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This production, headed to the Noël Coward Theatre, is likely to attract a lot of positive attention in the run up to its opening. This is for numerous reasons, namely the cast that has been assembled in Dame Judi Dench and her “Skyfall” co-star Ben Wishaw, the director in Michael Grandage, the writer in John Logan, and the story that focuses on the meeting between two well known characters – Peter Pan and Alice (of “Alice in Wonderland”). It appears as part of Grandage’s season of plays at the West End venue, which includes other shows that should also amass considerable sales of theatre tickets thanks to their star power and brilliant plots.

The set-up of “Peter and Alice” falls on a real life meeting between the two people who formed the inspirations of the respective characters. J M Barrie based Peter Pan on Peter Llewellyn Davies and Lewis Carroll based Alice on Alice Liddell Hargreaves and the pair met at an exhibition for Carroll in the 1930s. As a result, “Red” playwright John Logan takes this event as composes a new play that sees these iconic literary characters meet-up, with Wishaw as Peter and Dench as an older-than-familiar Alice.

Judi Dench is an undisputed national treasure whose career has had many highs, whether it is on the stage, where she has been seen regularly since her debut in the second half of the 1950s, or on the screen where she is best known as James Bond’s boss “M” in the 007 movies since “Goldeneye” in 1995 (the latest is October 2012’s “Skyfall”, where she appears alongside Wishaw). Her other credits include “Shakespeare in Love”, “Mrs Brown”, “Iris” and the television show “As Time Goes By”. For the stage she recently provided the voice of the Giant in “Into The Woods” at the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park, and appeared in “Madame De Sade” at the Wyndham’s Theatre in 2009.
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Ben Wishaw, meanwhile, is a rising star thanks to his casting as Q in the Bond movie “Skyfall”, working with well known London theatre director Sam Mendes. His credits include “Cloud Atlas”, “The Tempest” and “The Idiot” at the National Theatre in 2008.

Other productions as part of Grandage’s West End series include “Henry V” and “Privates On Parade”, among others.

“Peter and Alice” is at the Noël Coward Theatre from Monday 25th March 2013 (previews from Saturday 9th March 2013).