Peter and Alice

I didn't know what this would be like, other than it would be well acted given the stars are Dame Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw. That sells tickets on its own. The premise is a meeting of 80 year old Alice Liddell (inspiration for Alice in Wonderland) and a rather younger Peter Llewellyn Davies (inspiration for Peter Pan).

Its a good enough play, but don't take your kids. Why? Well the message of the piece is really that life is all downhill from the age of 10. For these two one can see their point of view. Alice ended up wed to a man with a great country house, but her three sons died in the trenches and her husband's financial acumen was lacking, leaving her aged and alone living in a draughty library in a decaying house. Peter by contrast only had one of his brothers killed in the trenches, but his favoured younger brother Michael then committed suicide. Oh and both his parents died of cancer during his teens. Yes one can see why their 10 year old selves were more carefree, even if both the subjects of obsessive attention of adult family friends in Lewis Carroll and JM Barrie. Thankfully this a a rarity in modern plays in not being built on revelations of child abuse. Rather it brings out the sadness of these men who are drawn so much to the fleeting joy of youthful innocence. Their needs are emotional rather than sexual.

Certainly a play that leaves one thinking. 90 minutes with no real action or drama as such, but the flowing dialogue doesn't mean the play drags at all. But one is ultimately left with a sense of deep sadness. Even before getting home and finding England had drawn with Montenegro.