Wonderland begins with the mystery of a young woman, leaving home and embarking on a dangerous journey. Read more …
In another moment down went Alice, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.
Meanwhile, a couple go about the routine of their lives, surrounded by a dark and mysterious world in which anything is possible and anything goes.
Wonderland examines the allure of the erotic and the invasion of pornography into modern popular culture. It is a mystery about a door that - once opened - is almost impossible to close, a story about curiosity, power and the moment fiction and make-believe blur into reality.
Matthew Lenton’s brave and relentless show may just be one of those starting-places; bleak, terrible, and necessary.
Wonderland is not a comfortable watch but the piece carries a powerful message.
If the idea sounds interesting, then trust me, its execution is not. The production proceeds, without any apparent structure, at a pace that makes a snail look speedy, and with no variation in its mood of sinister unpleasantness.
A darkly disturbing production, expertly realised.
The piece feels slight, a disjointed collage of images and half-explored ideas whose lack of a heart or any dramatic structure is more likely to alienate than enlighten.
The pervasiveness of pornography in the private and public spheres is an important subject for dramatic exploration, but the extreme violence depicted here is so obviously a bad thing that there's no room for ambiguity or debate – just a disempowering feeling of despair.
Vanishing Point makes a tremendous impression, although not necessarily in a good way. It’s difficult to escape the feeling that was the point, however.
What’s offered is a portal into the hellish vast of online pornography, sadly with little to actually say on the matter.
As it plays out its victory of form over content (a trait too common of Vanishing Point shows), it cannot carry the emotional and intellectual weight of its important and distressing subject matter.
The conclusion is left somewhat ambiguous, but this results in a formidable and powerful performance.
"Wonderland" feels like a show with something to say - but I couldn't hear or understand it.
Tramway, Glasgow from Saturday September 22, 2012, until Saturday September 29, 2012. More info: www.tramway.org