Audience reactions to the premiere performance:
"It's like grotesque music-hall!"

"...vivid characters..."

"youthful...effective...exciting"

"A contemporary rock musical for the modern era"

"The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when the Mad Hatter sang 'Your Move'"

"beautiful singing" and a "wonderful spectacular".

Review of the Premiere Performance of 'The Eighth Square' as found in The Show Committee's newletter of May 2006, published by the University of Portsmouth:
It's been over two and a half years in the making, but The Eighth Square finally premiered in a full length version at The New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth on Friday 12th May 2006. Ben J Macpherson and Matthew Fleming first started writing back in 2003 to create this wonderful spectacular. Fleming's script was very cleverly adapted from ideas based around Lewis Carroll's original Wonderland stories. The action centres on a series of unexplained murders and Alice had found herself in the middle of the troubles. Erin Burns portrayed Alice wonderfully. Along her quest to find out who she really is, Alice is guided by the White Rabbit's Ghost, and meets (among others) the Cook and the Faun, all brilliantly acted by Alex Hillman. He made clear distinctions between each character and brought a real atmosphere to the stage. The Cheshire Cat was performed by dancer Mandy Temple and she mastered the feline qualities and physicality needed for such a dominant role in the show, to 'purrfection'. Annaliese Budimir was both the Duchess and the Queen of Hearts which she performed with pizzazz and enthusiasm. Her characterisation was just a strong as when this show was performed in its abridged version at Wiltshire Studios back in November 2005.
The two writers of the show (Director and MD respectively) also performed, with Fleming as the Red Knight and Macpherson as the Mad Hatter. Fleming was joined by Stuart Crang who played the White Knight and the two of them provided some much needed humour in the form on many silly contradictions. There was clearly a lot of work that went into their performance because the timing and physical placement of their two bodies matched so perfectly - and that is not easy.
Despite some technical problems with the lighting, Alex Purser created some wonderfully constructed lighting designs, and the sound engineering of FourFour Ltd's Gary Sallows and Steve Duffy enhanced the audibility of the beautiful singing.
Finally, Mr Macpherson not only conveyed the madness of the Hatter brilliantly, but he was also the mastermind behind the score. Songs such as Double Jeopardy and Playground Heroes were fantastic. There were moments in the show that were very emotional, and the music certainly complemented the actors' performances. I really hope that this is the start of a long career for both Ben and Matt. Well done to all those involved.
A Review by Danielle Ward for The Show Committee.

Review of the abridged performance of 'The Eighth Square':
The world had waited long enough. Well, the University of Portsmouth had, but it seemed like the entire world was in on it. The new musical written by Ben J Macpherson & Matthew Fleming premiered in an abridged hour-long performance at Wiltshire Studio, as part of an examination for the Creative Arts half-degree.
The combination of an examination and a world premiere meant that backstage was brimming with more than the usual pre-performance nerves, tension and excitement. Director, Sophie Raeburn gather the troops together for a last team talk just in time for the show to go up; making sure everyone was ready for the task ahead.
The show itself went down well with the audience. The music engulfed the studio, whilst the use of microphones added to the intense atmosphere. Alice, played by Erin Burns, captured the heart and soul of the lost girl. She movingly portrayed the role with empathy, emphasized in heartfelt songs 'Realising' and ''The Loss'. Alex Hillman, multi roling as the Cook and the White Rabbit (Ghost) respectively, took the audience on a roller-coaster ride from laughter in 'There You Go' (as the Cook), to tears in 'Playground Heroes', the torch song of the White Rabbit's Ghost. Musical maestro Macpherson took on the role of the Mad Hatter, and with the blend of leather trousers, long black and grey hair, and white face - the only way to describe him would be, simply, Mad!
The zany Matthew Fleming (on and offstage) was joined by Stuart Crang, literally, as the two faces of The Knight, whose constant squabbles and antics provided ample comedy in the dark narrative. Annaliese Budimir shone as the hilarious Duchess and confused Queen, whilst Mandy Temple's transformation from human to feline seemed almost effortless as the show's narrator; and during the big rock show-stoppers 'Double Jeopardy' and 'The Eighth Square'.
Ben J Macpherson & Matthew Fleming's creativity at such a young age has to be admired. The end result is a show that does credit to, and continues the legacy of the amazing Alice stories. They have, in essence created a new rock musical for a modern era. The audience came out wanting more; unfortunately, they will have to wait for the full length contemporary rock opera to debut in May. But from watching this energetic and exciting condensed performance, the expectation to produce as spectacular show will be higher than ever. Can they fulfill their potential? If you, like myself, want the answer to that question, then I'll see you at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth, on May 12th 2006.

A Review by Alex J Segal.