Arts and Entertainment

Century Church Theatre presents ‘Alice in Wonderland’ for their holiday Panto

November 6, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

The Century Church Theatre’s latest play, “Alice in Wonderland,” is written by Ben Crocker, based in the UK, and is the author of many Pantos. The theatre’s selection committee found his website and obtained the rights to this show.

Opening Nov. 22 and running over three weekends to Dec. 7, all but one of the performances are matinees; the Friday, Dec. 5, performance starts at 2 p.m., and the Dec. 7 performance is an evening performance at 7 p.m. Then, on Saturday, Dec. 6, and Sunday, Dec. 7, it’s a 2 p.m. matinee.

Amanda Phillips, co-director with Angie Sapalovski, is also directing music and designing the choreography.

In an interview with the Citizen, she outlined the story, keeping the surprises back but saying there is a cast of 30 performing, 21 of whom are ages 4 to 16. The ensemble consists of 15 young children, all 12 years old or younger.

“They have become a family, to put on such a huge production,” Phillips said. “By the end, they’ll be saying, ‘look what we did!’”

Phillips shared some of the details, “There are two Queens, a Right Queen and a Wrong Queen and the Queens both want to rule. But the Great Clock needs to be rewound or time will stop!”

It seems there is a Great Book, which predicts that Alice will come to find the Key and wind the clock, so all will be safe.

But: the Wrong Queen has Bandersnatch and the Wrong Rabbits, who will try to stop Alice from getting the Key.

Whereas, the Right Queen has “everyone else,” as Phillips put it. “Alice (Principal Girl) and Harry (Principal Boy), the White Rabbit, the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, Tweedledum and Tweedledee.. and more!”

The Key is guarded by the Jabberwocky, and Phillips parted with the caution: “No one knows how scary he is,” she added. “Then, there is the Looking Glass, which turns everything around.”

The audience will enjoy seeing so many children and the sing-along, offered in a different way, but still there. They will be highly entertained by their own participation as the show goes along.

Phillips outlined what has been most challenging about being co-director, as working with a large cast was her first time directing. This massive learning experience has included learning lines and blocking, as Phillips herself has always been the one performing on the stage, not in front directing it.

Yet, she comes to the job with strong qualifications: she is the mother of five children and has been involved in choreographed Zumba fitness. She was clear that she is not a dance instructor but brings a good understanding to her present task.

Rehearsals are going really well; the cast has been dedicated to learning their lines so they can be off book and move freely around the stage.

“The kids have been great,” Phillips praised them. “About 90 per cent of the ensemble have never been in a theatre before and a couple of them have been looking to audition for next year.”

With real sensitivity, she made the point that everyone has something to do and say, and they have made the best use of the ensemble members. Audiences will notice a balance in the show between the “goodies” and the “baddies.”

“The costumes are really amazing,” she said. “With so many characters, the costumes are a huge credit to the team that is putting them together.”

The costume designer is Trish Hamilton, assisted by Gillian Riseborough, Rosemary Crisp, Linda Steen, and Betty Andrews.

There was also a brief chance to speak with Neville Worsnop, the co-founder with his late wife, Jo Phoenix, of Century Church Theatre. Jo Phoenix introduced Panto to Century Church and wrote the first pantos the group produced until she died in 2022.

Still the secretary/treasurer of the foundation, he commented, “I’m looking after tickets, but I am not going to see it until opening Nov. 22. It’s a big cast. I know some of the people in it who will put on a great show.”

Worsnop directed the early Pantos, and now he has great confidence in co-directors, Amanda Phillip and Angie Sapalovski.

Everyone, from little kids to grandparents, will love this show and how panto brings in a lot of audience participation.

“Theatre is an enriching cultural experience,” is Phillips’ opinion, “Watching people on stage is a completely different experience from watching a movie.

“It is a tradition for Century Church to present panto over the Holiday Season and it can be the tradition for our audiences too! We want the audience to get involved and really enjoy themselves, ” she said.

Alice in Wonderland opens Nov. 22 and runs for three weekends through Dec. 7. Century Church is located at 72 Trafalgar Road N (formerly Main Street) and Station Street in Hillsburgh.

For details and tickets, go to https://www.centurychurchtheatre.com

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