Billed as a “story about storytelling”, and with a publicity aesthetic implying wonder and nostalgia, there has been a lot of hype around Wander, and hopes were high for a joyous feat of storytelling from this ADC mainshow. Unfortunately, the bar was set too high and while there were some charming and heart-warming moments, the production was mostly confused and a little messy.

The key problem is that Wander, written by finalists Faye Guy and Claire Takami-Siljedahl, doesn’t really know what it wants to be. On the one hand, it has elements of pure heart and fantasy, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, with a bohemian twist and Peter Pan’s Lost Boys populating the forest of its setting. On the other, it attempts to detour into a relatable coming-of-age story, a brash comedy, a love story, and a moral tale, all at once and with minimal integration.

This makes for a tonally mixed piece, and sadly the structure of the story isn’t strong enough to cope with the shifts: it treads a path between whimsy and severity, but never quite reconciles the two, with moments of profundity lost in the odd structure, or else undermined by misjudged innuendo or brash banter that leaves behind a confused or awkward silence. It would be a momentous task for anyone to coherently bring together these strands, and while in isolation the scenes and stories are well done, they don’t quite hang together.

That being said, the cast is brilliant and charming, with Sophia Sheera stealing the show as Faryn, and the excellent ensemble bringing to life an array of characters – including some disgruntled fairies and a host of whimsical or insidious woodland creatures. They also operate a number of inventive and wonderfully constructed puppets which are beautifully incorporated into the world of the play. Coupled with several stylised movement sequences, courtesy of Movement Director Jonathon Ben-Shaul, Wander is a unique piece of storytelling and there are moments of real beauty, if you only care to look.

The cast is complimented by the central set piece, the Family Tree, designed by Ciaran Walsh, Shali Reddy, and Emily Senior, which sits at the heart of the stage and the heart of the story, impressive in construction and aesthetic. Arthur Robijns’ compositions, and Chris Lazenbatt’s sound design also deserve recognition, giving the whole show a fresh and raw texture, especially with the use of recorded sound collages layered into the background.

The ideas that brought Wander to the stage are commendable and ambitious, and the production team should be applauded for their vision. The portrayal of happy endings as sometimes ambiguous, the challenge to the heteronormativity of fairy tales (and stories in general), as well as a strong female presence in the narrative are all refreshing and wonderful concepts. It’s just a shame that something went awry in the structuring of the production. Perhaps the problem was that Wander was programmed as a mainshow, when it clearly struggled not only to fill the time slot, but also to cope with the division into two acts. The interval damaged the narrative by allowing tenuously linked threads from the first half to dissipate entirely in the second. It would have done much better had it run without an interval and been able to breathe within its form as it needed and wanted to, rather than being restricted by the theatre’s need to sell ice-creams at the midway point. It is clear that there was great potential here; it just was hampered by a lack of narrative direction and mis-programming, which bent the production out of shape and into something that it didn’t want to be.

In the end, it’s a shame that Wander tried to do and be so many things when it would have been better served had it chosen to simply run with a single idea and develop that fully. However, it would be wrong to write off the show entirely. There are some lovely moments within the dialogue, and it’s well worth going just to see the performers tackle some unique characters and handle some gorgeous puppets. The experimental elements of Wander are its saving grace, and it sets an important precedent that devised theatre does have a home on the ADC stage. It just deserves greater opportunities, attention, and accommodation in Cambridge theatre than it currently receives.

Wander is on at the ADC Theatre until 24th February