On Wonderland

Underbelly
4 stars
There are so many different ways of seeing for Moia, the girl in Gavin O’Carroll’s blistering little monologue, which almost slipped under the radar this Fringe. Following a fit aged five, Moia is diagnosed with Alice In Wonderland Syndrome, a condition where faraway things appear up close, while what’s actually under your nose can seem miles away. Rather than some issue-based exploration of illness, O’Carroll and director Al Smith have used it as a leap in the dark for a kind of rake’s progress, as sassy but vulnerable Moia takes flight from Northern Ireland to Camden and Spain, trying to find the little girl within to co-exist with the woman she’s become.

Kerry-Jayne Wilson gives a heart-wrenching turn as Moia, all taut sinew, wide eyes and runaway train bucket mouth. Perched in an old tin bath, her painful travails unfurl with vigour and abandon. When she finally sees the wood for the trees, the reflection that stares back at her is the real thing at last.

The Herald, August 2007

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