Heart children have been given the chance to experience Wonderland this Christmas as the Lyric Theatre Belfast has chosen the Children’s Heartbeat Trust as the charity partner for their festive show, Alice: The Musical.
Alice: The Musical is the Lyric’s own take on the much loved Lewis Carrol story of Alice in Wonderland. It features all the story’s strange array of characters, from the Mad Hatter and the March Hare to Tweedledum and Tweedledee, with the Queen of Hearts and Alice, as she explores Wonderland. Alongside the music of Paul Boyd, the musical has been playing to rave reviews to audiences from far and wide.
As the chosen charity, the Children’s Heartbeat Trust will have the chance to see the show in a special performance, and a special cast recording of the music has been launched by the Lyric to help raise funds for the charity.
Children’s Heartbeat Trust supports children and young people living with congenital heart disease and their families in Northern Ireland. Heart disease is the most common birth defect in Northern Ireland with over 200 babies born every year with heart disease in Northern Ireland. The charity relies on the generosity of public donations to maintain their current family support services.
Launching the partnership, Gareth McGreevy, Fundraising Officer at the Children’s Heartbeat Trust: “Alice in Wonderland is a story that captures the imagination of everyone, young and old, and we are delighted that the Lyric has chosen to support Children’s Heartbeat Trust with their own unique take on the story. It is particularly exciting to partner with the Lyric, who bring so much joy and laughter to the city with their shows. As well as supporting the charity in our fundraising, the Lyric has also given a wonderful opportunity to our heart children and their families by being able to see the show.”
Claire Murray, Head of Development and Marketing at the Lyric said, “We are delighted to partner with the Children’s Heartbeat Trust this Christmas for our family show. Every year we welcome thousands of children and families to the Lyric to experience the magic of Christmas on stage, and this year is a little more special as we celebrate both our 50th anniversary on Ridgeway Street and the 20th anniversary of Alice: the Musical, which was first commissioned for the Lyric back in 1998. As well as our charity performance, we have created a cast recording CD to mark the occasion in aid of this very special charity.”
Alice: The Musical runs at the Lyric until the 5th January.
CD copies are available from www.lyrictheatre.co.uk and by contacting [email protected] and will soon be available online from Spotify, iTunes and Google play.
