Greenside @ George Street
Until 23rd August
George Street’s Greenside venue in Edinburgh is a wonderful place to enjoy your Fringe action – this was my first trip of the 2025 versions, and I eagerly awaited going into a play by Jason Woods, titled ‘A Mad Mad Wonderland’.
Jason’s new writing rests on the shoulders of someone who is very well used to the Fringe, being a consummate regular. His highly experienced material and stage presence snapped into action, with a flash, for this one man show. His voice broke boundaries with its first sentence, stirring the room into intelligence, and entertaining us all with great gusto – equipped, as he is, with well laid out storytelling, pregnant with plentiful referencing.
This take on Alice in Wonderland was incredibly well-acted; in that every care was taken in dialogue, narration, while following a story refreshed to thunderous levels, and toyed with and played with to an extreme – a real, dramaturgical treat.
Then emerged his killer impressions. To the sound of oboe music Jason began to go through the Wonderland characters – out came Jim Carey, to a T, for example, and an unbelievable performance ensued. As the avatars of Lewis Carroll’s fermenting imagination flew in and out, we saw Jack Nicolson as Cheshire Cat, Alan Rickman and an amazing Jeff Goldblum as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum – & all of which was wrapped up in joking to the highest extent.
Jason’s take owed a certain magnanimousness to the plots of Wonderland, making the text the real star of the show as he hurried around as the White Rabbit; dithered with the Mad Hatter; and dishevelling his face while the Queen of Hearts uttered her general orders for the chopping off of heads.
This show takes Fringe-life by the scruff of the neck, and shows what is possible, what can actually be achieved if you raise your game. And doing it all on his own deserves great credit. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as did the rest of the audience, and for me it was a truly fantastic start for my Fringe this year.
So who, or what, is Jason? A comedian? An actor? An impressionist? Well, all of the above, and then some. He seemed purely gleeful glee while entertaining us – his facial expressions and enthusiastic physicality flowing perfectly. I do not think I will be forgetting this must-see production for a long while, the Mad Mad Wonderland of Jason Woods has burned a happy brand on my memory!
Daniel Donnelly
themumble.uk 