Eco Savvy upcycled a familiar tale

Sometime in the midst of June a group of islanders got together with Eco Savvy to work on upcycling a familiar tale. Alice in Wonderland was 150 years old this year and her image has been redesigned. This creative group of people felt that they could create a new look for Alice by using a range of upcycling processes. Throughout the summer they met and designed, sewed, glued and painted their way through a collection of donated and waste items to create not only a new image for Alice but also all the costumes, props and decorations that were to become the upcycled story of Alice in Wonderland.

Last Friday in Whiting Bay village hall Alice in Wonderland was retold with a small invasion from characters from the Wizard of Oz! A packed audience bought into this madness and eagerly anticipated the new tale that had become Eco’s version of Alice in Wonderland. They were not disappointed as a cast of adults and children led by Alice Lockhart took to the stage to tell a tale that became a journey through the unknown. A story sprinkled with dramatic entrances, comedic moments and choreography that just left us all smiling. The creative team chose the Queen of Hearts as the character to represent exactly what can be achieved with upcycling and her entrance from the back of the hall did not disappoint. The madness continued until the culmination of the story when the brand new upcycled Alice was presented to the audience. It was a moment to pause and reflect on what has been achieved by a spirited group of people who set themselves no boundaries. The show closed with a stunning new arrangement of ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ from the Vivace choir. The curtain call was in now typical Eco Savvy style and as Beyonce blared out the entire cast took to the stage once more and the audience clapped along.

Eco Savvy put on a night that created lots of special memories but more than that he showed us all just what can be done with a group of commitment people and upcycling. He would like to thank everyone that helped to make the project such a success and he has left us wondering ‘what next?’.

If you would like to join Eco Savvy in his work on the island towards an ambition of zero waste, do pop into his shop in Whiting Bay and have a chat with one of his volunteers or visit his website.