Alice in Wonderland: A Dream Play for Children

Henry Savile Clark's stage adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland", first performed in 1886, is the very first authorized dramatization of Lewis Carroll's beloved novel. With Carroll's personal approval and involvement, Clark's production brought the whimsical world of Wonderland to life in a way that captured the imagination of both children and adults alike. Clark, a journalist and playwright, collaborated closely with composer Walter Slaughter to transform Carroll's text into a musical stage play. Their goal was to remain faithful to the spirit of the original stories "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865) and "Through the Looking-Glass" (1871) while making them suitable for the stage. The result was a family-friendly Christmas pantomime-style production that premiered at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London on December 23, 1886. Unlike later, more fantastical and freer interpretations, Clark's adaptation retained much of Carroll's dialogue and verse, preserving the nonsense poetry that had made the books so popular. The play was a hit with Victorian audiences and ran successfully through the holiday season. It was revived several times in the following years, helping to cement "Alice in Wonderland" as not just a literary classic but also a staple of British theatrical tradition. This edition reproduces Clarke's final 1888 revision of the script with an extensive appendix including cut material and alterations, photography and press reviews of both the 1886 production and the 1888 revival.