Maragon goes down the rabbit hole to ‘Otherland’
The school play was a twist on children's classic Alice in Wonderland, incorporating various pop culture elements into the show.
Maragon Ruimsig’s Grand Hall was transformed into another world for the weeknights of 17 to 20 September, as the primary school wowed hundreds of parents.
The school’s production was titled Alice Out of Time and took a modern musical twist on one of the all-time classic children’s fairytales. In their depiction of the tale, ‘Otherland’ has had its time stolen, and the kingdom has come to a standstill.
The disruption in time also meant that the moon and the sun weren’t able to tell what time it is, so both would be out and shining at the same time. There was also no water in the kingdom, which one can interpret as a subtle reference to the drought in the Western Cape.
The entire play was riddled with subtle nuances and digs at the South African political scene, as well as society in general.
One scene in particular, the play’s Town Square scene, cleverly picked apart some of the struggles South Africa is faced with at the moment or was faced with in the past. In the scene, the Queen of Hearts addresses her townspeople, trying to calm them down about the dire straits the kingdom finds itself in.
Much like South African society, the townspeople believed their queen’s empty promises, as she also requested gifts from her people. The gifts included a cow, a bottle of water (another reference to the water shortage in the Cape), a stack of books (the constant issue of schools not receiving textbooks), and an airplane presented by two children with Indian accents (the Guptas).
Overall, the show was brilliantly put together, with a vast number of aspects from present popular culture incorporated into the performances, such as the floss dance and a number of dances from the online role-player game, Fortnite. The actors put on performances that brilliantly portrayed their characters, which were further enhanced by stunning costumes.
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