Tempest in a Teapot

by Shualee Cook

At age 10, Alice Liddell inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But at age 21, she finds herself trapped between the fantasy world created for her, and the restrictive Victorian world of Oxford, England – each with a very specific role she is expected to play. Then a chance meeting with Carroll after years of silence leads her down the rabbit hole again to the Mad Tea Party, where a...

At age 10, Alice Liddell inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But at age 21, she finds herself trapped between the fantasy world created for her, and the restrictive Victorian world of Oxford, England – each with a very specific role she is expected to play. Then a chance meeting with Carroll after years of silence leads her down the rabbit hole again to the Mad Tea Party, where a seemingly casual suggestion by Carroll that she read Shakespeare’s The Tempest turns into a philosophical treasure hunt. With help from the Mad Hatter, March Hare, Dormouse and Cheshire Cat, Alice proceeds to act out the classic play in hope that it holds the key to her crisis of identity, and offers a way of dealing with her magical but complicated past.

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Tempest in a Teapot

Recommended by

  • John Wolbers: Tempest in a Teapot by Shualee Cook
    “

    A truly epic journey filled with literature, whimsy, hope, humor, heartache, and the numerous facets we choose to describe our identities. You'll never think of the Cheshire Cat or Caliban the same way again. And while the intriguing characters of both Tempest and Wonderland strongly inhabit this colorful world; Cook has given Alice the voice and spotlight to finally be heard over the din.

    A truly epic journey filled with literature, whimsy, hope, humor, heartache, and the numerous facets we choose to describe our identities. You'll never think of the Cheshire Cat or Caliban the same way again. And while the intriguing characters of both Tempest and Wonderland strongly inhabit this colorful world; Cook has given Alice the voice and spotlight to finally be heard over the din.

    ”
Alice Liddell - brunette, statuesque at age 21; smart, sharp, polite in a way that's prickly
Lewis Carroll - tall and effete at 41; ultra-formal surface with a whimsical ocean underneath
The Cheshire Cat - the smiling instigator of bringing Alice back to Wonderland
The Mad Hatter - manic, always eager to be more involved
The March Hare - content and accommodating
The Dormouse - a very sleepy oracle
Dr. Liddell - Alice’s father, dean of Christ’s Church, Oxford; played by the actor playing the Mad Hatter.


Through the course of the play, the characters act out scenes from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Lewis Carroll's Alice books, and Alice Liddell's past, with parts as follows:


Alice - Miranda, Ariel
Lewis Carroll - Prospero
The Cheshire Cat - Caliban, Red Queen, Lorina, Edith
The Mad Hatter - Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, The Butterfly, The Dodo
The March Hare - Ferdinand, Sebastian, Trinculo, The Duck, Prince Leopold
The Dormouse - Alonso, The White Queen, the Mouse

Development History

  • Reading, Idle Muse Athena Festival, 2016
  • Reading, R-S Theatrics, 2015

Production History

  • Professional, SATE, 2024

Awards