Following on from a manic Christmas period where I was Santa Claus at WAFI Mall, I found myself back in the same location for another exciting month where I was the Mad Hatter in a custom Alice in Wonderland performance.
Accompanied by the Queen of Hearts, two of her guards, the White Rabbit, a Caterpillar and, of course, Alice, I found a new talent in acting. We performed two or three shows everyday for a month, and also wandered around the mall bringing a special something to the guests.
The shows were a very fun mixture of jokes, banter, singing, dancing and entertainment. The children loved how immersive the shows were and the cast found a wonderful flow by the end of the month. The roaming sessions, where we walked around the mall, interacting with people walking by were the most fun.
As an actor, a scripted show is nice and useful, but as the Mad Hatter I craved creativity, freedom and, most importantly, the ability to be MAD! When roaming around I was causing trouble, making people jump and just being a complete nutcase. A role that, 'surprisingly', I fit into without any hesitation.
All in all, it was a fantastic run of shows with an amazing cast that I will never forget. Plus I learnt how to do my own make-up!