It was a version of the show presented at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre the year before. Noel Ferrier had pitched the idea of doing a pantomime at the Comedy Theatre to Sir Frank Tait, who agreed. Ferrier said the show was "a great financial success" and staging it "was a most enjoyable experience. I cannot think of many other ventures I have enjoyed as much."[5]
It was especially written for television by Jeff Underhill, reportedly the first time the poem had been adapted for television. Bruce George wrote the music.[6]
"Alice, as the central figure, provides the continuity," said Jeff Underhill, "and the scene changes take place round her in the almost magical way videotape allows."[7]
There were 14 different scenes and eight songs. Noel Ferrier produced and his wife did the sets.[7]
Selected songs
"Off with their heads"
"A-sitting on a Gate"
"Beautiful Soup"
"You Are Old, Father William"
Reception
The Sydney Morning Herald said the "production was not always successful in matching confusion with charm."[8]
^Ferrier, Noel (1985). The Memoirs of Noel Ferrier: There Goes Whatsisname. The MacMillan Company of Australia. p. 88.
^"TV FEATURES". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, no. 10, 406. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 December 1962. p. 27. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
