“ASC’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is an excellent production to introduce children to live theatre. Boasting a creative cast, colourful sets, and catchy tunes, spending a morning in Wonderland (with Alice) is a treat for everyone – young, old, and mad (as a hatter)!”
— theatrehaus
Royal Botanic Garden Sydney - The Pioneer Garden •
Saturday, 4 April 2026 – Sunday, 19 April 2026
Join Alice on her amazing journey through Wonderland and experience an adventure like no other.
This school holiday, tumble down the rabbit hole as the Australian Shakespeare Company presents Lewis Carroll’s absurd & wickedly clever classic - Alice in Wonderland.
Brought to life beautifully in Glenn Elston’s highly acclaimed production, this familiar tale is stunningly lifted right from the pages.
Your favourite assortment of curious characters are all waiting for you... meet the skittish, constantly late White Rabbit, sing along with the Dodo and other birds in the Caucus race and meet the pepper-obsessed Duchess and her extremely crazy cook. The Cheshire Cat will leave you with a grin and you can’t fail to miss Humpty Dumpty on his way to meet Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
And what might seem slightly silly, becomes downright absurd as the Mad Hatter arrives with the March Hare and Dormouse to have a grand old time with Alice at the tea party.
This enchanting world of song & dance will have the whole family dizzy & giddy with nonsense!
Dennis Manahan is an Australian actor and director with extensive experience
across theatre, film and television. His screen credits include Neighbours, Stingers,
Something in the Air and House Husbands, as well as numerous feature and short
films. He stars in the title role of Nathan Loves Ricky Martin, which received an
AFI/AACTA nomination for Best Short Film and won Best Film at the Peninsula Film
Festival, where Dennis also received the award for Best Actor.
Dennis has been a long-standing collaborator with the Australian Shakespeare
Company, performing in productions including Macbeth, Henry IV Part 1 and Alice in
Wonderland. He has directed Alice in Wonderland for the company across multiple
seasons, including the 2025 London season at Kew Gardens. Dennis is passionate
about creating accessible, imaginative theatre that delights audiences of all ages.
Glenn Elston OAM
Book and Lyrics
Glenn Elston OAM has directed over 250 seasons Shakespeare, Classic Works, Musicals and Family Theatre. A prominent figure in Australian theatre, he is particularly known for pioneering outdoor picnic theatre in Australia and creating immersive, family-friendly experiences that have become beloved traditions.
Elston began his journey in 1987, forming a small performance collective that has since grown to be Australia's largest independent theatre company. His dedication to making Shakespeare and other classic stories accessible to a broad audience has led to the production of iconic outdoor performances, particularly during the summer season, attracting audiences from across the nation.
His repertoire includes celebrated productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, Comedy of Errors, Henry IV - Part I, Richard III, Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, Macbeth, and As You Like It. Beyond Shakespeare, he has written and directed original stage adaptations of beloved stories like The Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Toad’s Birthday Party, The Caribbean Pirates, Jack and the Beanstalk, Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies and Jungle Book – The Next Chapter. His productions of classic texts includes Lady Chatterley's Lover, Wuthering Heights, The Crucible and Pygmalion.
In 1987, Glenn was founding producer of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival which has gone on to become the 3rd largest comedy festival in the world. Glenn also was a founding member of the Melbourne Comedy Club, originally based at the Hilton Hotel and formed with Rita Rudner, Martin Bergman, Michael Edgely Group, Greg Hocking and Tim Woods.
In 1990, Glenn was co-producer of Hair which opened in Melbourne and then began a tour around Australia. Glenn took over as tour director in Sydney and travelled with the production to venues in Camperdown, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, Townsville, Cairns, Kuranda, Darwin, Wollongong, Launceston, Hobart, Newcastle and Tweed Heads.
In 2002, He adapted and directed Much Ado About Nothing into a rock musical with his regular songwriting collaborator, Paul Norton. This adaptation has toured Australia and has enjoyed sold out seasons in many Australian capitols. Six of Glenn’s productions have appeared in five different Adelaide Festivals.
Since 2003, Glenn has been collaborating with Djilpin Arts and co-presented the Walking with Spirits festival - a powerful celebration of Aboriginal traditions held at Malkgulumbu (Beswick Falls) in the Northern Territory. This partnership is this ongoing. Furthermore, in 2010 he produced Noel Tovey’s acclaimed production Little Black Bastard to the Edinburgh’s Gilded Balloon, further amplifying Indigenous voices on the international arts scene.
In 2014, Glenn directed and designed a new Australian touring production of Godspell the Musical which played seasons at Arts Centre Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Traralgon, Sale, Warragal and the Sydney Opera House.
Glenn has produced many local and international acts over the years including Sir George Martin in Concert with Glenn Shorrock, The John Farnham Band, James Rayne & Tommy Amanuel (QPAC, Hammer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne and the Sydney Opera House), David Strassman, The Heartbreak Kid, Blues in the Night, The Life and Death of Sandy Stone (Barry Humphries), Five Guys Named Moe, Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore! (Penny Arcade), A Stretch of the Imagination and three Australian Tours of Marianne Faithfull including a special performance of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins.
In recognition of his contributions, Glenn Elston was honoured with a Melbourne Award for Contribution to Melbourne's Profile by an Individual in 2014 and the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2018 for his service to the performing arts. He is the Artistic Director of the Australian Shakespeare Company (ASC) and a director at A.T. Management.
This year, Glenn is bringing three productions to London's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It will mark his seventh season there.
Paul Norton
Musical Director
Paul played bass in various bands, including The Runners, Wendy and the Rocketts, and Steve Hoy and the Hoy Boys, before launching a solo career in 1988. Signed to Mushroom Records, his single "Stuck On You' reached number two on Australian charts. The single from his album "Under a Southern Sky" was later chosen for Australia Day celebrations at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Paul toured Australia with The Countdown Spectacular, performing to 100,000 people nationwide in 2006. As the Musical Director for The Australian Shakespeare Company, he wrote the scores for Much Ado About Nothing, Jungle Book - The Next Chapter, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, As You Like It, The Dream Fairies, Barassi the Stage Show, Alice in Wonderland, and the comedy Certified Male.
Sue-Ellen Shook
Choreographer
Sue-Ellen has been in the dance industry for nearly four decades.
A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, her career covers all facets of dance, in Australia and internationally, including Film, Television, Musical Theatre, Music Concerts, Sporting Events and Corporate Entertainment. Sue-Ellen has choreographed episodes for the TV shows House Husbands and So you think You Can Dance. Her stage choreography credits include Motherhood the Musical and Menopause the Musical. She has been resident choreographer for the Australian Shakespeare Company for over 10 years in Australia and England. Her performance credits include: “Baby Doll” for Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, “Demon Woman” on the Stan series Preacher and lead dancer for the ABC’s The Divorce. Stage credits include A Chorus Line (Australian Tour) Starlight Express (in Germany), and Tiger Lily in the Sydney production of Pan, The Production Company’s Oklahoma, Boy from Oz, 42nd Street, Pajama Game, Sugar and Promises Promises, as well as the role of “Moth” in multiple seasons of ASC’s “Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies.”
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Ticket Exchanges
You can exchange your tickets up to 3 hours prior to the performance time.
FAQ
Are there chairs to sit on?
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For Family Theatre Performances; Chairs are not supplied either by the Production Company or Venue; however you are welcome to bring your own picnic/camping chairs.
If you bring a chair elevated more than 15cm off the grass, please sit towards the back so you do not obstruct the view of other patrons. Staff on site will be able to assist you.
For Shakespeare and Under the Stars Performances; Low-rise and standard height chairs are available for hire from our box office for $5 each at Shakespeare Under The Stars performances (subject to availability). Hire chairs cannot be arranged and paid for in advance. Hire chairs are not available at our family theatre productions.
The show is listed as Fully Booked, does this mean it is sold out?
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If a show is 'Fully Booked' this means there are no more tickets available, however more allocation may sometimes become available closer to the performance date if other patrons exchange their tickets.
Some performances may have a waitlist available which will be accessible via the show information page. We encourage guests to sign up so we can let you know when more tickets are released.
How do I request a date change?
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Ticket exchanges are sometimes necessary for our patrons due to weather conditions, family illness or unexpected emergencies. You can exchange tickets for another performance date, subject to availability (conditions apply). If a performance is cancelled due to weather, you are eligible for a lifetime credit note for the face value of your tickets. This is valid for any ASC production in Australia.
For MAINSTAGE performances, all exchanges must be made 3 hours prior to the performance start time.
For FAMILY THEATRE performances, all exchanges must be made 1 hour prior to the performance start time.
How will I be notified of a cancelled show due to bad weather?
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If a performance is to be cancelled, patrons will be notified via a text message and an email. We will also display a cancellation notice on the home page of our website.
Earliest notification of a cancelled performance will be on-the-day-of the scheduled performance and in some circumstances, may be within an hour of the scheduled start time.
Where do I collect lost property?
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If you have lost an item at one of our shows please call (03) 8676 7511 or email boxoffice@shakespeareaustralia.com.au.
If you find an item, please pass it onto one of our team members so it can be reunited with its owner.
Can I meet and greet the performers after the show?
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Meet-and-greets are typically reserved for important requests, such as for children with unique needs, and are subject to performer health, schedule, and weather/venue conditions.
Even when pre-arranged, unforeseen circumstances may require us to adjust or cancel them at short notice. If you’d like to request a meet-and-greet, please reach out in advance and we will do our best to accommodate.
What does it mean when a performance says “allocation exhausted”?
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Allocation exhausted means that there are currently no tickets available for this event. More tickets may be released, but this is not guaranteed. If you are looking for a single extra ticket, please contact our Box Office on 03 8676 7511.
What happens if the weather is bad?
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Earliest notification of a cancelled performance will be on the day of the performance. Performances usually proceed in light drizzle, but cancellations do occur when needed.
If a performance is cancelled, patrons will be notified via text message and email.
Guests will be able to exchange their tickets for another night, or receive a credit note for future ASC performances.
Where can I buy tickets?
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Our primary location for ticket sales is via our website.
Alternatively, you may use our secondary ticketing partners: Ticketmaster, TodayTix and Halftix.
Onsite Box Office Sales are also permitted on arrival, (subject to availability).
Please note, Viagogo is not a legitimate ticket seller for any ASC events.
What is a Companion Card Ticket?
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This ticket is for carers and support works with a valid Companion Card.
This card is for people with significant and permanent disability who have a lifelong need for a high level of support to participate in community events and activities.
The card allows a person’s carer free entry into participating venues and events.
Companion Cards are part of a nationally run program that aims to promote a person’s right to fair ticketing and to make community access and participation more accessible and affordable.
When purchasing a Companion Ticket, please remember to bring your companion card with you so our box office team may sight it on arrival. If you are not able to provide a valid companion card, you may be asked to upgrade your ticket to a different price type.
What time does the performance start?
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The performance start time is the marked time on your ticket and booking confirmation; it is not the venue opening time.
Photos & Filming
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You are allowed to take photos of the stage, as well as with your family and friends before the show. However, no photos or video are permitted during the performance.
Can I smoke onsite?
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Our audience areas are smoke-free, especially at our family shows. Each venue has a different policy on smoking. Check out the venue information pages to know more.
Why do weather cancellations happen last minute?
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We cannot gather accurate and up to date weather data from the Bureau of Meteorology until approximately 2 hours prior to the start of each show.
We closely monitor rain maps and radars to assess whether or not the predicted forecast will eventuate as planned, be delayed, change directions or disperse.
The current El Nino pattern adds another layer of complexity to assess for cancellations. It means that sudden weather changes are more likely and thus, advance warning for some weather events has been compromised.
In the event of a cancellation, customers will be notified by a text message and an email, and a public notice will be placed on the home page of the website.
Can I bring my dog?
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Dogs are not allowed at performances of mainstage or family theatre shows. However, service animals are always welcome.
What time does the venue open?
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For Mainstage Under The Stars Performances
The gates to the performance area open 2 hours prior to the start of the show.
For Outdoor Family Theatre Performances
The performance area opens 1 hour prior to the performance.
How do I get there?
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Each venue has its own information page with maps, directions, transport and other general information. You may find this page on the show page by clicking the button labeled "Venue Information."
Do you accept Companion Card?
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The Australian Shakespeare Company is pleased to support the Companion Card program. You may purchase one Companion Card ticket during the regular booking process.
If you require additional Companion Card tickets, please contact the box office directly on 03 8676 7511.
Please ensure to bring your valid companion card with you on the date of the performance.
I have a question regarding accessibility
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We are here to help you and make the most of your experience, so please let us know your individual requirements when booking. You can contact us on 03 8676 7511 or email boxoffice@shakespeareaustralia.com.au.
Please note, all performances take place on grass.
How does seating work?
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All our outdoor shows are presented in the style of “Picnic Theatre”. This means you can bring along everything you would bring to a picnic such as food, drink and a picnic rug to sit on. You can bring standard height picnic chairs but you will need to sit at the back of the audience area so people sitting on blankets and low rise chairs can see the show unobstructed.
Chair hire is also available onsite for $5 for all Shakespeare Under The Stars performances. No pre-booking possible and there are limited numbers.
