Last night, we headed to the Sherman Theatre to review ALICE: RETURN TO WONDERLAND for South Wales Life, and came out with that rare festive feeling: properly lifted.
This is a dreamlike, magical Cardiff fairytale where wonderland feels heartbreakingly close to home. Written and directed by HANNAH McPAKE, the production wears its heart on its sleeve without ever getting sugary. It is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, but it is rooted firmly in something recognisable: family, memory, and the stories we reach for when life stops making sense.
Sherman audiences will already know Hannah well. She led last year’s A Christmas Carol, the highest grossing show in the company’s history, and you can feel that same sense of theatrical confidence here. Not in a flashy way, but in the calm assurance of someone who knows exactly what this audience wants and what this building does best. A warm welcome. A big story. A few surprises. And enough wonder to keep children wide eyed while giving adults plenty to sit with on the walk home.
The premise is a cracker. We begin in post war Cardiff, where a grown up Alice finds herself pulled back toward the strange logic of Wonderland. The stakes are immediate and personal: she is racing against time to save her daughter Carys, who has fallen into the clutches of the Red Queen. From there, the show moves with an easy momentum between the ordinary and the surreal, using that slippery dream logic to explore fear, love and resilience. It is not just a nostalgia trip. It has something to say about why these stories endure, and why at certain moments we need them more than ever.
ELIAN MAI WEST plays the title role, and it is a genuine pleasure to see her back in Alice’s shoes after playing the character in the Sherman’s 2018 Alice in Wonderland. West brings a grounded feel to Alice, which is crucial when the world around her is pinging between tenderness and threat. You believe her as a mother with everything to lose, not just a heroine collecting characters like souvenirs. MARI FFLUR is a bright, compelling Carys, full of curiosity and steel, and their scenes together give the show its emotional backbone.
The ensemble around them is packed with familiar Sherman faces, and that matters in a festive show. There is an immediate trust between performers and audience, the sense that we are in safe hands. The cast includes CAITLIN LAVAGNA, EMILY IVANA HAWKINS, OLIVER WOOD, JOSEPH TWEEDALE, ZARA LAW, and in his Sherman debut MAX JAMES, with KEIRON SELF returning for his 11th Sherman Theatre Christmas show. The result is a company that moves like a single organism, switching roles, energies and tones without ever losing clarity. Wonderland can easily become a blur of noise and costumes, but this production keeps the storytelling clean and the humour sharp.
And yes, it is magical. Not the kind of magic that relies on constant spectacle, but the kind that comes from strong stage pictures, playful character work, and an atmosphere that makes you lean in. Young and old were clearly loving it last night. The laughs landed, the quieter beats held the room, and there were a few moments where you could feel the audience collectively soften.
As usual, the Sherman has turned out something special for the festive season: a show that welcomes families warmly while still treating the source material and the audience with respect. Alice: Return to Wonderland is uplifting, funny, and unexpectedly moving, with a local heartbeat beneath all the fantasy.
ALICE: RETURN TO WONDERLAND is at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff through to 3rd January 2026, with a range of performance times, ticket prices, and accessible performances available. If you are choosing one Christmas outing that will charm the kids and leave the grown ups quietly glowing, this should be high on the list.
For more details and tickets go HERE.
You can read our original feature HERE.
ACCESS
- Sat 6 Dec – 2:00pm BSL interpreted
- Fri 19 Dec – 6:30pm BSL interpreted
- Sat 6 Dec – 2:00pm Relaxed Performance
- Sat 13 Dec – 2:00pm Captioned
- Fri 19 Dec – 6:30pm Captioned
- Sat 13 Dec – 7:00pm Audio Described
- 6 Dec (2pm) and 19 Dec (6.30pm) – BSL Tony Evans
- 19 Dec – Pre show Deaf Theatre Club BSL Claire Anderson
- 13 Dec (2pm) and 19 Dec (6.30pm)– Captioned (English) by Erika James
- 13 Dec (7pm) – AD Michelle Perez
