MARKING the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice in Wonderland, this one-man show brought an intimate insight into the complex character of Lewis Carroll to the very Yorkshire town in which he received his early education.

With the stage transformed into Carroll’s comfortable rooms in his Oxford College, Kevin Moore captured the butterfly mind of the Oxford don and mathematician whose nonsense poems and stories became part of the English canon. His imagination, bright and child-like in itself, clearly appealed to youngsters and expressed a love of fantasy and a colourful escape from reality.

Moore’s portrait was of a man with an unusual mind, a curious combination of innocence and intelligence. A nervous stutter was particularly evident at the mention of marriage or the taking of religious orders – possibly an acknowledgement that his love of children may preclude membership of the two traditional institutions. The stammering vanished magically in the face of rhyming, rhythmic verse telling of surreal encounters and bizarre adventures.

Using letters, snippets of poems, narration and rumination, there were hints that Carroll’s enthusiasm for photographing children with his rosewood box camera may not have been entirely innocent.

Letters from parents refusing to accede to Carroll’s requests for visits, a discussion of how “kissable” a child was and his evident pain that his muse, Alice, had grown up, all point to a more uncomfortable obsession.

David Horlock’s play clearly conveyed that the world of the child was one which fascinated the author sufficiently for him to disregard the “misrepresentation” he endured as a result.

Subtle handling of the material and an engaging performance by Moore left the question unanswered as to whether Carroll’s preoccupation with young girls was sexual in nature. I left feeling "curiouser and curiouser".

Christina McIntyre