Matt Baker composes Alice in Wonderland score

Mar 18 2010 by Jo Henwood, Chester Chronicle

JOHNNY Depp isn’t the only person getting to grips with rabbit holes, shrinking girls and The Cheshire Cat at the moment.

Chester composer Matt Baker has also been getting his head around Lewis Carroll’s classic fantasy Alice in Wonderland.

Matt, who lives in Chester’s Garden Quarter, has composed the score for a brand new musical version of the book at Southampton’s Nuffield Theatre.

“I deliberately haven’t been to see the film yet,” said Matt. “This production is a family show with very vivid characters and a very talented professional cast.

“It is not dark at all and I aimed to create tunes that will give the audience a real heartwarming feeling.”

Hours after finishing the work, Matt was on board an aeroplane bound for Australia, where he is working with performing arts students in Melbourne on a new musical, the Star of Wormwood, followed by a stint as artist-in-residence for an International Schools Theatre Festival in Perth.

“It’s always exciting working away from Chester but I am looking forward to getting back to work on Noah at the amphitheatre in June and two new projects for Theatre in the Quarter.”