MISCHIEF and mayhem are taking over the Elgiva's stage as an original story called Malice in Wonderland is brought to life.

The show was written by Blag Youth Theatre's Lynn and Richard Beaumont and will see 84 children and teenagers from the area and beyond show their talent.

Lynn said “the story is nothing like Alice in Wonderland” but follows Queen Rap as she ventures into wonderland which is home to all the nursery rhyme characters, declaring that nursery rhymes are antiquated and wants to replace them with raps.

To banish the rhymes for ever she has just 24 hours to gather the ingredients she needs to succeed, while the nursery rhyme characters try to stop her. She added: “It is a very panto show. There is lots of audience participation and lots of strong panto numbers.

“We originally wrote it for panto for a cast of 20 but we decided it was such a great story it would really work if we expanded it.”

Lynn and Richard set up Blag Youth Theatre 14 years and each year do a Summer Project which takes over two weeks of the summer holidays.

She added: “it is a very social thing of course. The kids make life long friends. All my team, bar one, are all people who did Blag when they were younger.”

At the end of the two week projects the show will be performed at the Elgiva in Chesham. There will be songs from the hit musicals Wicked, Avenue Q, Joseph, and Bugsy Malone.

Lynn said it gives them the chance to see what it really would be like in professional theatre as they get the script two weeks before they put on the show.

She said: “This is real challenge. Going into a real theatre builds their confidence. They learn about how theatres work and some kids might never have been into a theatre before.”

Lynn added the kids give up their holidays to rehearse from 8am-6pm every day and said, “It is a really buzzed up time.”

Malice in Wonderland is at The Elgiva on Friday August 6 and Saturday, 7. Show tickets are £12 (£10 concessions) from 01494582900 or go to www.elgiva.com