Trapped in Wonderland

What is Trapped in Wonderland?

As nightclubs and special evening events returned to the UK in 2021 we were asked by long term client, XclusiveTouch, to assist them with their new special event “Trapped in Wonderland” – this event scheduled for halloween was to offer an exciting, extreme alternative to regular halloween themed nightclub entertainment and was to take place at the iconic Clapham Grand Venue.

Our client produces club nights and runs their main business Twisted Circus which is a hugely successful nightclub event. They have a Twisted Circus residency in some of London’s hottest nightclubs and have previously worked with us to create a nationwide tour of the event. So when they came to us admiring our previous Alice In Wonderland work but they wanted to combine that with their famous Twisted Circus feel, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to get creative.

Stage One: The Brief

Our brief was to create an extreme, out of this world, atmospheric alternative Alice In Wonderland stage show which did not include any fire effects due to venue restrictions. With our client particularly liking the quirky and shocking acts which push all the boundaries we wanted to ensure the entertainment would meet all their expectations and the costumes to take on a more sexy and unusual appearance. The only rule- there were no rules…

Stage Two: The Planning

We began by choosing some iconic Alice in Wonderland characters and discussing acts the client particularly envisioned to begin our mood boards ensuring we worked to the highest standards and within the client’s budget.

Our client immediately brought up an idea that they would like character driven performance and ever-changing 10 minute shows as this event was DJ and stage driven to create an entire atmosphere for the clubbers, and there would not be open space through the venue for characters to walk around. We agreed this event required an immersive and engaging experience for guests in the same way all the Twisted Circus events do so focused on acts which could work to any DJ set and provided high visual entertainment.

Stage Three: Costumes & Performers

These Alice in Wonderland costumes made quite a change from our usual style, their nightclub environment requirements along with the needs of the performers to still be able to move and perform their skills was a fun change for our costume department, creating a new set of costumes to allow the performers easy movement and to remain cool in a hot environment whilst having halloween vibes and twisted Alice aesthetics.

Alice – for this event our client was keen for Alice to make a huge statement, maybe a drag performer or something nobody would expect. We had just the performer in mind. Our costume team created a blue Alice dress and pinafore, an oversized bow and they added a ragged white tutu to add volume and a touch of halloween to the look. The performer- a plus size male dancer and comedian sported a blonde wig and full natural curled beard with heavily styled anime make up.

White Rabbit – the White Rabbit was chosen to be an extreme hula hooper creating high energy on the stage. Her costume requirements for her act included exposed skin for the hoops to grip, fabric should be none slippery and a leotard type fit was best suited. We designed a leotard style dress with an exposed midriff to create a feminine twist on the white rabbit. Gold clocks were embroidered onto the base beneath the mesh. To create a sexy nightclub feel we added white leather fingerless gloves and a white choker then added a bunny ear headband with pose-able ears so our performer could adjust them as needed and affix them to her head using elastic if required. Our hooper opted for bunny teeth fangs and blood to add that horror ‘trapped in wonderland’ element to the overall look.

The Cheshire Cat – usually the Cheshire Cat is the option we suggest for contortion, however the client preferred the pink and purple old style Cheshire Cat and asked for an aerialist/ pole performer so we opted for a full wet look catsuit in pink and purple stripe to allow our performer to use her aerial hoop. At the venue’s request we opted for a freestanding rig so the performer could set up anywhere on the stage and still perform at full height utilising the pole and hoop.

The White Queen – another head turning act- the client requested a stripping burlesque White Queen act. Layered in stunning white lace, mesh and satin with ice white blonde hair our White Queen was set to turn some heads with her sexy, unexpected act.

The final character was of course The Mad Hatter – the client loved our sword swallowing Mad Hatter but wanted an even more twisted and bizarre selection of acts so we opted for a sword swallower with freakshow acts too. We added some extra bright elements to the costume to make him pop on stage and removed the heavier fabrics to keep the performer cooler. Then our performer opted for heavy eye make up to add a touch of darkness to his character.

Stage four: Finalising Details

With leafy hedgerows dressing the DJ booth, oversized wonderland props and hundreds of glow sticks it was almost time to bring in the guests. We created an act schedule ensuring each performer offered multiple stage sets throughout the night, balancing the weird and wonderful with high impact circus acts.

Stage Five: Bring In The Guests!

As chants of “Go Alice! Go Alice, Go, go, Go Alice!” blasted through the packed venue, streamers and balloons bounced from the ceiling and the crowd partied the night away enjoying the orchestrated chaos and drama on stage. The Mad Hatter made jaws drop as he mixed cocktails using a shaker swinging from hooks placed in his eye sockets, The White Queen basked in shrieks of delights she stripped to her pasties and twerked her way across the stage.

The Cheshire Cat twirled around her pole and The White Rabbit rocked her hoop act to thrilling sets by DJs Guy D’Angelo and Gem Precious. Its safe to say the night was a huge success and our client immediately started plans for a New Year’s Eve Trapped in Wonderland event following the success of this one, so it looks like we may be getting creative again soon to make their next event even more weird and wonderful.

“We can’t wait to once again work with Oddle Entertainment and their amazing performers. The plan is to continue the takeover and hit more cities with many more dates!”

– ROBBIE CAVE

XclusiveTouch, Director

Creating custom entertainment options is exactly what our team enjoy doing most. With our vast selection of costumes and our ability to custom make something to suit your specific needs means our performer’s acts can be tailored to suit any event theme.

To enquire about our Halloween, or even our classic, Alice In Wonderland theme please use our Contact page, or if you have your own ideas in mind and would like to discuss a custom package created just for you – feel free to drop us a message.