Ali in Wonder(Eng)Land – Jacksons Lane Theatre

This rather clumsily titled play is the “rabbit hole” to a rather fascinating 75 minutes of devised drama by the LegalAliens Theatre’s Tottenham Project which reimagines Lewis Carroll’s famous Alice in Wonderland as the experience of an immigrant trying to negotiate the English immigration system and cultures.

Directed by Lara Prlmiani the play was first created in 2023 and has now been updated for the current production at the Jacksons Lane Theatre. Each successive cast, all of whom are immigrants from a wide range of countries, bring their own perspectives of their challenges in settling in England to the text.  The use of Lewis Carroll’s famous story as a template was an inspired idea since nothing could be more English and yet it is very effectively and humorously used to illustrate the challenges of being a contemporary immigrant.  We meet many of Carroll’s famous characters, Tweedledum and Tweedledee and the Mad Hatter, interposed with caricatures of those involved in the immigration process such as the Home Secretary. 

The play is performed by an ensemble of 15 mixed country immigrants accompanied by a musician on various instruments. The part of Ali (a substitute obviously for Alice) is shared sequentially between the cast members by the device of passing on a blue hoodie.  All the characters are played by members of the ensemble.

The setting is simple on a largely bare stage with a few boxes to the rear but with very clever projections on some hanging screens which show animations of the White Rabbit and also key moments from the action such as absurd questions being asked by immigration officials. 

These performers are not professionals and since they not performing in their own languages caused some audibility issues, but their enthusiasm was tremendous. This included getting the audience up on their feet to take part in a dance on one occasion!

This is not a polished production but one which has some very strong messages which are made more pertinent by the fact that they are observations by people who have experienced the challenges of settling in the United Kingdom and facing the bureaucracy of our immigration systems.

Ali in Wonder(Eng)Land is only playing for two nights 14th -15th July 2026 at the Jacksons Lane Theatre but I hope it will re-emerge in some form because it is an important piece of drama and social and political commentary.

Tickets are available www.jacksonslane.org.uk 

Reviewer: Paul Ackroyd

Reviewed: 14th July 2026

North West End UK Rating: